\ 

J 

m 

THE  UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  MISSION  LIBRARY 
475  Riverside  Drive,  New  York  27,  M.Y. 


£ibrar;)p  of trhe  t:heolo0ical  ^^mm<sxy 

PRINCETON    .    NEW  JERSEY 

■?»  <«■ 

PRESENTED  BY 

The  United  Presbyterian 
Mission  Library 

BL  2790  .16  M5  1893 
Mitchell,  Thomas,  1818- 
Conflict  of  the  nineteenth 
century The  Bible  and 


CENTURY— THE    BIBLE    AND 
FREE    THOUGHT 

INGERSOLL'S   LECTURE    ON   THE    GODS   DISSECTED 

ITS   CHARGES  A  COMBINE   OF   MISCONCEPTION 

AND   RECKLESS   ASSERTION 

Biblical  Religion  the  Exact  Counterpart  demanded  by 

THE  Mental,  Moral,  Social,  and  Physical  Nature 

OF  Man  ;  Man  for  God,  and  God  for  Man 


'  Fool  to  think  how  vain  against 
The  Omnipotent  to  rise  in  arms  !  "  . 


APR    6    196? 

REV.   THOMAS    MITCHELL  ^^^^•*^'^'^^-^ 


BY  y 


AUTHOR    OF  "  COSMOGONY,"    "THE    LATTER    DAY    GLORY,"    "  THE    HOUSE  WITHOUT 

A  foundation:   romanism  the  antithesis  of  Christianity" 


"VOICES   FROM    PARADISE" 

AND   OTHER  WORKS 
"  Buy  the  truth  and  sell  it  not.'"— Prov. 


NEW  YORK 

THE   UNIVERSAL    BOOK    COMPANY 

1893 


Copyright,  1893,  by 
REV.  THOMAS  MITCHELL 


1^ 


TROW   DIRECTORY 

PRINTINQ  AND   BOOKBINDINO  COMPANy 

NEW   YORK 


mmm  ?mBmm  mission  library 

475  Riverside  Drivfi,  New  York  27,  H.Y. 

m'\    „ 

PREFACE.     ^^^-^''^' If^^y 


This  book,  and  the  four  others  mentioned  on  the  title 
page,  comprise  the  results  of  more  than  a  half  century  of 
impartial  and  independent  investigation  of  the  works  and 
words  of  God.  When  commencing  a  religious  life,  which 
was  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  I  caught  a  new  inspira- 
tion for  acquiring  knowledge.  My  parents  were  natives 
of  Scotland,  and  I  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
1818.  My  mother  was  religious  and  a  great  reader, 
especially  a  student  of  Scripture.  My  father  was  not  re- 
hgious,  but  a  philosophic  thinker  and  reader  of  scientific 
works,  and  would  converse  with  me  when  a  mere  child, 
upon  scientific  and  historic  subjects.  I  inherited  and 
thus  acquired  a  passion  for  original  investigation.  This 
rendered  it  impossible  for  me  to  accept  or  believe  any- 
thing upon  mere  authority,  no  matter  from  what  source 
it  professed  to  have  come,  or  the  range  of  thought  to  be 
circumscribed  within  the  boundaries  of  human  opinion ; 
in  religion  the  product  of  creeds,  and  in  science  the  hy- 
pothesis of  men,  it  may  be  of  high  titles  and  educational 
position,  who  generally  seem  to  be  perfectly  contented  by 
becoming  masters  of  the  text-books,  many  of  whom  look 
upon  original  ideas  as  innovations,  just  as  though  there 
was  nothing  more  to  be  learned  from  Scripture  and 
Nature,  the  two  great  books  of  the  Creator. 

In  a  short  time  I  was  advised  to  enter  the  ministry, 
which,  being  congenial  to  my  own  mind,  I  did.  It  was 
but  a  few  years  before  I  learned  to  my  utter  astonishment 
my  great  ignorance,  and  lost  all  confidence  in  attempting 
to  teach  what  I  did  not  understand,  and  this  was  the 
most  important  lesson  of  my  life ;  to  know  that  I  did  not 


O  \}  kJ   S 


iv  PREFACE. 

know.  Up  to  this  time  I  had  studied  the  standard  works 
of  my  own  denomination,  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  by 
their  controversies  with  other  Protestant  denominations, 
discovered  wide  differences  of  doctrinal  opinion  among 
men  equally  learned  and  honest,  all  claiming  to  have  the 
Bible  for  their  bases.  These  observations  led  me  into 
a  complete  state  of  mental  confusion.  To  solve  such  a 
question  it  was  necessary  to  begin  at  the  foundation  of 
such  relations.  Here  was  man  possessing  the  organic  ele- 
ments of  devotion  and  reasoning  faculties,  which  led  him 
from  effects  to  causes  and  to  a  single  first  and  only  cause, 
thus  arriving  at  the  existence  of  the  Creator  and  object 
of  the  devotion,  and  that  the  Creator  must  have  given 
His  creature,  with  such  endowments,  a  written  revelation 
in  correspondence  with  such  a  nature. 

In  view  of  all  this  I  came  substantially  to  the  follow- 
ing conclusions : 

ist.  That  if  the  Scriptures  are  what  they  purport  to 
be,  the  inspired  words  of  God,  those  words  must  be  in 
harmony  with  themselves. 

2d.  As  these  words  of  prophesy  not  only  claim  to  fore- 
tell events,  but  those  developed  by  the  march  and  con- 
nection of  the  great  universal  dynasties  connected  with* 
the  Church,  either  corrupting  it  by  their  fostering  care,  or 
attempting  its  destruction  by  the  bloody  sword  of  perse- 
cution, running  the  prehistoric  record  down  to  the  very 
end  of  the  world  itself,  and  that  if  these  events  can  be 
understood,  then  they  constitute  a  chronological  chart  by 
which  the  age  of  the  world  itself  may  be  measured,  the 
fulfilment  of  each  in  the  succession  approximates  so  much 
nearer  the  last.  And  the  events  thus  passed  form  the 
history  of  the  world  ;  to  understand  and  know  the  one  is 
equally  to  know  the  other. 

3d.  If  the  statements  of  Scripture  touching  the  origin 
of  the  world  and  its  inhabitants  are  true,  they  cannot  be 
in  conflict  with  the  logical  deductions  of  the  works  of  the 
same  Being — properly  called  philosophical  science. 

4th.  If  the  Creator  is  the  author  of  a  book  claiming 
to  be  for  the  enlightenment  of  His  creatures,  involving 
their  duties  and  destiny.  He  must  have  been  capable  of 


PREFACE.  V 

making  its  teachings  intelligible  to  all  of  such  creatures 
ranking  high  enough  in  the  scale  of  being  to  know  right 
from  wrong,  providing  they  study  those  revelations  ac- 
cording to  their  own  prescribed  rules. 

Thus,  was  the  almost  appalling  task  before  my  mind ; 
but,  in  self-defence  as  against  infidelity,  I  was  obliged  to 
master  these  great  questions,  though  comprehending  the 
solid  literature  of  the  ages. 

The  first  questions  which  arose  were  :  What  was  taught 
in  the  prophetic  Scriptures  in  regard  to  the  design  and 
destiny  of  the  world  and  man,  and  the  events  through 
which  both  must  pass  in  order  to  complete  those  designs? 
This  I  accomplished,  at  least  to  my  own  satisfaction. 

The  second  question  was  :  Have  those  prophetic  events 
been  fulfilled,  and  in  the  predicted  order  and  according 
to  the  predicted  periods  of  time  covering  them?  Of 
course  this  task  necessitated  a  knowledge  of  the  history 
of  all  nations.  We  not  only  accomplished  this,  but 
found  the  historic  to  be  the  complement  of  the  prehis- 
toric, or  prophetic,  and  which  admitted  of  no  other  con- 
clusion than  that  the  Creator  of  the  world  was  the  author 
of  Scripture. 

About  this  time  what  was  called  the  science  of  evolu- 
tion and  the  geological  chronology  of  the  world  came 
prominently  before  the  people,  claiming  that  man  did  not 
originate  at  the  time  nor  in  the  manner  stated  in  the 
Bible.  This  involved  as  the  third  part  of  our  task  a  philo- 
sophical knowledge  of  all  the  facts  and  phenomena  of 
natural  science  bearing  upon  these  questions,  many  of 
which  could  not  be  found  in  books,  and  by  which  false 
science  could  be  exposed.  Again  did  we  master  this  part 
of  our  task,  demonstrating  that  the  account  of  creation 
given  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  if  not  thus  written,  could 
have  been  written  by  a  man  who  had  acquired  a  correct 
knowledge  of  the  science  of  nature,  which  comprehends 
the  reciprocal  interdependence  of  intelligent  being  and 
lifeless  matter,  the  whole  involving  a  complete  system  of 
philosophic  necessities — thus  vindicating  the  writing  to 
have  originated  in  the  mind  of  the  Creator  himself.  The 
results  of  this  part  of  the  investigation  are  published   in 


Vi  PREFACE. 

the  first  of  the  series  of  the  five  herein  mentioned,  and 
entitled  Cosmogony,  and  we  appeal  to  literary  observers 
of  the  ten  years,  since  its  publication,  whether  the  argu- 
ments have  not  nearly  put  to  silence  the  defenders  of  the 
pretentious  science  of  evolution  and  the  geological  age  of 
the  world,  inconsistent  with  its  chronology  as  given  in 
the  Bible,  unmasking  the  atheistic  deception  of  saiHng 
under  the  false  colors  of  '^  free  thought." 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE 

Standard  of  truth  defined xiu 

The  events  through  which  Christ  passed— foretold  by  prophets  xiv 

Nature  and  object  of  giving  prophetic  events xv 

Events  Christ  promised  to  execute  at  his  return xvi 

Why  has  skepticism  increased  in  our  day  ? xvii 

Thomas  Paine  and  Robert  G.  Ingersoll's  coming xviii 

Limit  of  mental  conception— Philosophy  of  creation xxi 

Axiomatic  defence  of  theism— From  nothing,  nothing  comes  .  xxiii 

Philosophy  of  cause  and  effect— Its  sequence— Creation xxvi 

Why  we  make  Ingersoll  our  target xxvu 


CHAPTER   I. 

Zoroaster— A  theist 3^ 

Philosophy  of  Confucius— He  a  theist 34 

Buddhist  creed  not  atheistic 3" 

Degeneracy  of  Buddhism  by  modern  skeptics 3^ 

Freethinkerism  degeneracy,  not  progress 39 

Light  of  nature  and  Providence  lead  men  to  love  the  Creator .  .  39 

The  Creator  cannot  be  indifferent  to  the  character  of  man 40 

Ingersoll's  objection  to  sacrifices  answered 42 

God  taught  Cain  and  Abel  the  nature  and  object  of  sacrifice  .  .  44 

God  preached  the  first  gospel-sermon  to  Cain  and  Abel 45 

The  humility  of  Christ  submitting  to  be  slain,  humbles  men. .  .  46 

The  principle  of  sacrifice  humbles  those  it  favors 48 


Vlll  TABLE  OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   11. 

PAGE 

The  globular  form  of  the  earth  taught  in  the  Bible 53 

The  Bible  teaches  the  world's  suspension 54 

Heathen  astronomy  learned  from  Scripture   55 

**  Thou  sun  stand  still  !  " — The  end  must  be  known  to  justify 

the  means 57 

Land  of  Canaan  promised  to  the  Hebrews 60 

Was  the  object  important  enough  to  arrest  the  sun  in  its  course  ?  62 

Astronomical  objection  answered 64 

Objections  to  the  flood  answered 65 

The  arch-scoffer  sneers  at  the  little  ark 68 

Division  of  light  on  the  first  three  days  of  creation 72 

False  skeptical  astronomy  degrades  the  earth 75 

The  doctrine  of  miracles — What  is  a  miracle  ? 76 


CHAPTER   IIL 

Origingil  soil  an  act  of  creation 79 

Is  Ingersoll  an  atheist  ? 81 

The  scoffer's  specious  sympathy  for  the  deluded 82 

The  seed  and  harvest  of  Ingersollism 85 

Christian  religious  system  the  highest  social  standard 86 

It  is  the  religion  of  principle — Reason — Motive 88 

How  the  Christian  religion  views  oppressors  of  the  poor 90 

Revealed  religion  founded  upon  a  philosophic  basis 94 

The  scoffer's  socialistic  communism 96 

Ingersoll's  contumelious  treatment  of  the  Scriptures 97 

The  laws  of  God  must  be  against  image-worship 99 

The  Creator  must  manifest  his  interest  in  national  affairs 102 

All  rational  beings  jealous  of  their  rights  and  honor 103 

CHAPTER   IV. 

The  government  of  God  a  future  theocracy 106 

Doctrine  of  devils — The  scoffer's  preference  for  them 109 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGE 

Another  false  charge  refuted 112 

The  scoffer's  sentimentalism  to  awaken  sympathy 113 

The  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost — What  is  it  ? 114 

The  scoffer  exalts  the  devil's  virtue  above  his  Lord's 116 

The  wickedness  of  the  antediluvians  necessitated  their  destruc- 
tion   119 

God  must  be  true  to  his  friends  and  promises 119 

Universal  belief  in  devils  argues  their  existence 12 1 

Ingersoll's  rant  about  prayer 127 

Do  personal  devils  exist  ? 128 

Biblical  history  of  the  devil 130 

What  was  the  serpent  ? 131 

Wisdom  of  the  serpent  and  faculty  of  speech 132 

Who  was  the  devil  ? 133 

The  location  of  the  devil 134 

The  devil  awaiting  his  destruction 137 

CHAPTER   V, 

Who  and  what  are  angels  ? 140 

The  angels  of  the  sepulchre 141 

Christ  not  a  spirit  in  the  sense  of  a  ghost 142 

Angel  escort  at  the  ascension  and  return  of  Christ 144 

Scripture  prophecy  of  the  event 144 

When  and  how  the  angel-devil  became  a  devil 145 

Personality  of  angels,  and  therefore  of  devils 147 

Angels  at  the  burning  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 148 

The  angel  Gabriel  and  the  prophets 149 

Psychologic  power  and  devil  possession 15 1 

CHAPTER   VL 

What  is  a  miracle  ? 156 

Philosophy  of  miracles 157 

The  conditions  upon  which  men  may  work  Christ's  miracles, .  .  159 

The  scoffer's  superficial  ideas 160 

Shallow  thinking  of  freethinkers 166 

The  knowledge  which  expelled  the  doubi 166 


X  TABLE  OF   CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

All  mankind  created  in  Adam  and  Eve 167 

The  scoffer's  ignorance  of  Christian  faith 170 

iRe-creation — the  world  without  end 172 

Faith  is  to  believe  God  will  keep  his  promise  173 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Obedient  works  essential  to  salvation 17S 

Human  transactions  illustrate  faith 181 

Two  resurrections  to  fit  men  for  the  kingdom 183 

Salvation  completed  at  the  end  of  this  world 184 

We  cede  one  claim  to  Ingersoll 189 

How  the  prophecies  may  be  known  to  have  been  inspired  by  God.  190 

God  challenges  man's  reason — upon  the  truth  of  prophesy  ....  191 

More  of  Ingersoll's  slander  of  Scripture 193 

Justice  and  humanity  of  the  laws  of  Moses 194 

Wisdom  of  the  laws  of  Moses  to  secure  justice  . 197 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Future  punishment  confounded  with  mythological  torments  . .  .  199 

The  subtle  schoolmaster's  opening  address 201 

The  scoffer's  admiration  of  the  devil's  modesty ...  203 

Ingersoll's  foolish  criticism  of  Job's  trial 204 

Hard  driven  for  matter  to  ridicule 209 

Plato's  discourse  on  the  formation  of  the  world 211 

Testimony  of  Xenophon  :  God  in  nature 212 

What  makes  a  man  a  philosopher  ? 216 

Heathen  philosophers  in  advance  of  freethinkers 2i7e 

Ingersoll's  ignorance  of  Scripture 219 

Why  men  love  God,  incomprehensible  to  Ingersoll 221 

The  scoffer's  defective  metaphysics 222 

The  scoffer's  bad  logic 225 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Why  Ingersoll  is  popular 227 

The  scoffer  claims  originality  for  one  thought 228 

Idolatry  proves  the  existence  of  a  living  God 231 


TABLE  OF   CONTENTS.  XI 


PAGE 


Origin  of  image-worship  natural 233 

Christ's  temptation  free  from  all  incongruity 236 

Providence  of  God  in  nature 238 

Another  young  Ingersoll  discovered 240 

Beauties  of  a  cancer,  the  sceptic's  argument 242- 

CHAPTER   X. 

Paine  shows  nature  demonstrates  the  existence  of  God 246 

What  makes  a  deist,  a  Christian,  or  an  atheist  ? 248 

Ingersoll's  prayer  for  an  idea — pitiable  object 249 

To  be  taught  of  God  too  humiliating  for  sceptical  pride 252 

An  ignorant  attempt  to  account  for  the  difference  of  gods 257 

The  gods  and  future  punishment 260 

Is  the  court  of  the  Gospel  bankrupt  ? 261 

Court  of  the  Gospel  condemns  for  works  of  omission 262 

God  is  too  merciful  and  too  unmerciful,  says  the  wiseacre 264 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Ingersollism  culminates  in  ten  absurdities 267 

The  archsceptic  quarrels  with  nature 269 

God's  vindication  for  introducing  natural  evil 271 

The  philosophy  of  future  existence 273 

The  earth  doomed  to  a  universal  conflagration 274 

The  sceptic's  arrogance  :  he  would  have  made  a  better  world,  .  276 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  discerning  scholar  confounds  popery  with  Christian  zeal  . .  282 

Progress  of  the  Gospel  in  the  first  three  centuries 287 

Pliny's  letter  to  the  Emperor  Trajan 288 

Trajan's  answer  to  Pliny 290 

Testimony  of  a  distinguished  martyr 291 

Tertullian's  apology  for  the  church  of  the  first  three  centuries,,  292 

Mythological  nomenclature 295 

A  supposition — a  counter  supposition  300 

The  wisdom  of  God  questioned  by  the  scoffer 302 

Killing  animals  for  food  no  part  of  the  original  creation 304 


Xll  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

What  kind  of  reformers  are  atheists  ? 307 

Atheism  has  had  but  one  period  of  power  and  success 311 

The  scoffer  harangues  the  people  to  rebel  against  God 312 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

Metaphysical  philosophy  of  power 314 

Nature  and  philosophy  of  worship 316 

The  gods  the  people  make 318 

Ingersoll  asks,  Who  will  supersede  Christ? 321 

History  and  philosophy  of  suffering 323 

Salvation  of  the  little  children 325 

The  scoffer's  closing  harangue 327 

The  final  doom  :   The  Galilean  has  conquered 329 

General  unbelief  reigns  when  the  world  ends 331 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Christianity  defended  before  the  Freethinkers'  Convention 333 

The  champion's  indorsers 336 

The  address 337 

Latest  discoveries  confirm  our  position , 352 

Scientific  origin  of  plant-life 354 

CHAPTER    XV. 

The  Philosophic  relation  of  the  Christian  religion  and  man. . . .  360 

Forty  syllogistic  conclusions 37c 

Man  cannot  corrupt  the  Scriptures 379 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Effect  of  the  address  on  the  convention  and  Freethinkerism. . .  382 

Reply  to  Courtland  Palmer's  speech  on  Spiritual  Life 386 

Ingersoll  challenged  to  public  debate  and  refused 395 

Cosmogony 398 

Cosmogony's  critic 398 

Professor  Mitchell  comes  back  at  his  assailant 404 

Professor  Thomas  Mitchell  answers  Dr.  Woolley 415 

Professor  Mitchell  replies  to  "  Truth  Seeker  " 432 

Biblical  Chronology  of  the  World 446 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  conflict  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  between 
Atheists,  Agnostics,  Astrologists,  and  Freethinkers,  on 
the  one  side,  and  behevers  in  revealed  religion  and 
sacred  Scripture,  on  the  other. 

As  Ingersoll's  lecture  on  "The  Gods,"  delivered  in 
Booth's  Theatre,  New  York,  a  few  years  since,  repeats  all 
the  skeptical  sentiments  of  the  past,  involving  the  ques- 
tion of  God — or  no  God  ;  if,  therefore,  we  refute  these,  it 
leaves  the  whole 'crowd  without  the  show  of  honest  de- 
fence, and  any  attempted  eff'ort  to  repeat  the  exposed 
errors,  will  only  manifest  a  dogged  morosity  and  an  ob- 
stinate resolution  becoming  only  the  wilful  destroyers  of 
all  good,  and  the  propagators  of  all  evil. 

"  When  the  enemy  shall  come  in  like  a  flood,  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up  a  standard  against  him." 
(Isa.  59:  19.) 

The  Standard  of  Truth  Defined. 

When  measured  by  truth,  there  are  but  two  standards 
— in  science,  philosophy,  morality,  or  religion.  Each  of 
these  divisions  of  human  knowledge — and  they  compre- 
hend its  totality — has  its  standard  of  truth  and  its  nega- 
tive standard  of  error,  that  which  distinguishes  one  from 
the  other.  Between  these  there  is  no  philosophical  agree- 
ment, no  community,  no  harmony.  They  may  seem  to 
run  into  each  other  at  such  nice  shades  of  blending  that 
to  the  superficial  observer  there  may  appear  no  important 
difference  ;  but  this  is  only  for  the  want  of  discriminating 
ability  to  perceive  the  point  where  the  truth  ends  and  the 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

error  begins.  If  this  proposition  be  correct  in  regard  to 
either  of  these  grand  divisions  of  human  knowledge,  it 
must  be  equally  so  of  the  others  ;  and  therefore  involves 
the  question  of  the  existence  of  a  living  God,  the  history 
and  character  of  Christ,  and  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion. 

This  postulate  also  necessitates  the  conclusion  that  if 
any  of  these  departments  of  human  knowledge,  or  any  of 
the  ideas  they  include  are  established  by  logical  argu- 
ment, and  more  especially  by  one  or  more  syllogisms, 
then  there  can  be  no  real  evidence  against  it ;  and  that 
which  appears  to  be  such,  must  have  its  foundation  in 
sophistry  and  vain  speculation,  leaving  the  truth  all  on 
one  side  and  the  error  all  on  the  other,  as  well  as  the  evi- 
dence leading  up  to  it.  For  example  :  If  the  logical 
teaching  of  natural  existence  and  phenomena  prove  the 
existence  of  a  living  Creator,  then  there  can  be  no 
logical  argument  against  such  existence.  If  science,  there- 
fore, proves  the  existence  of  a  personal  cause  upon  which 
the  origin  of  its  own  existence  depends,  then  there  can 
be  no  scientific  evidence  against  the  conclusion  ;  for  true 
science  cannot  teach  contradictions,  and  erroneous  sci- 
ence is  no  science  at  all  ! 

The  Events  Through  which   Christ  Passed — Foretold  by 
Prophets. 

Take  another  example :  We  find  that  the  history  of 
Christ,  from  his  birth  to  his  ascension,  was  foretold  by 
prophets  and  written  in  the  Scriptures  ;  and  it  is  another 
fact  that  the  writings  were  in  the  exclusive  possession,  ex- 
cept a  single  copy,  of  his  bitterest  enemies  and  crucifiers 
— the  Jewish  priests ;  and  furthermore,  that  their  treat- 
ment of  him  constituted  a  very  large  part  of  the  fulfil- 
ment of  those  prophesies,  showing  the  record  to  be  true ; 
for  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  those  enemies  would  write 
such  prophesies  after  the  fulfilment  of  the  events,  and 
pretend  they  were  written  before. 

A  truth  established  by  such  a  chain  of  facts  and  events 
admits  of  no  evidence  against  it;  and  if  such  is  the  record 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

of  Christ  in  prophetic  Scripture,  its  author  must  have 
been  he  who  not  only  saw  the  future,  but  the  end  from 
the  beginning,  and  the  question  as  to  who  were  the  mere 
penmen  has  absohitely  no  place  in  the  controversy.  And 
when  it  is  also  found  that  this  prophetic  account  describes 
the  leading  events  of  the  most  prominent  nations  of  the 
world  which  have  flourished  since  the  predictions  were 
known  to  have  been  written,  its  author  must  have  been 
the  living  Creator  who  inspired  the  writings  ! 

The  events  to  which  we  refer  are  those  changes  which 
have  grown  out  of  the  connection  of  the  nations  of  the 
world  with  the  true  and  false  church,  describing  its  cor- 
rupt, fostering  care,  or  cruel  persecution.  In  addition  to 
this,  when  it  is  found  that  prophetic  Scripture  contains  an 
accurate  description  of  the  present  pecuhar  civil,  social, 
and  religious  condition  of  the  world,  and  that  it  has  been 
developed  in  the  hfetime  of  the  men  now  living,  as  well 
as  the  chronological  order  of  the  record,  then  again  it 
must  be  true,  and  no  one  could  have  been  its  author  but 
a  being  who  foresaw  the  history  ;  and  the  possession  of 
such  knowledge  implies  the  ability  to  inspire  men  to 
write  it  in  advance  ;  of  which  no  being  would  be  able 
were  he  not  capable  of  weighing  the  reciprocal  influences 
existing  among  men,  or  which  would  exist  and  actuate 
those  concerned  in  the  development  of  the  events  de- 
scribed. Furthermore,  if  our  knowledge  of  philosophical 
science  demonstrates  that  the  world  and  its  organic  in- 
habitants must  have  originated  in  exact  accordance  with 
the  statements  in  the  account  of  creation  given  in  the 
book  of  Genesis,  both  as  to  time  and  manner,  then  the 
Maker  of  the  world  must  have  been  the  author  of  those 
statements ;  or  that  they  were  made  by  a  better  scientist 
than  has  ever  lived,  or  does  live  at  the  present  day  ! 

The  Nature  and  Object  of  Giving  Pi'ophetic  Events. 

These  prophetic  events  are  divided  into  those  which 
God  foresaw  would  take  place  in  the  natural  course  of 
things  among  men,  and  those  which  He  determined  to 
accomplish  by  direct  interference  j  and  a  miracle  is  that  of 


xvi  INTRODUCTION. 

which  nature  was  and  is  incapable,  and  toward  many  of 
these  events  nature  is  repugnant.  Such,  for  instance,  as 
the  conditions  of  friendship  with  the  Maker. 

Neither  could  there  have  been  the  slightest  object  in 
giving  a  record  to  men  of  prophetic  events  were  they  not 
susceptible  of  being  understood,  at  least  about  the  time 
of  their  fulfilment.  There  was  a  first  human  event,  and 
there  will  be  a  last,  and  each  of  the  succession  measured 
its  time  in  passing,  and  made  the  world  so  much  older 
and  nearer  its  end.  These  events  are  the  burden  of 
prophecy ;  of  course  those  living  near  the  end  of  the 
record,  if  biblical  and  historic  students,  behold  their  pas- 
sage or  existence  as  ominous  of  the  end  ! — impressing  them 
as  likely  to  come  at  any  day,  and  this  we  may  add,  in- 
stead of  setting  days  and  hours  for  the  end,  is  the  only 
knowledge  that  can  be  obtained  regarding  it  ! 

Speaking  prophetically  to  those  living  near  the  end, 
Christ  says  :  ' '  When  therefore  ye  see  all  these  things  come 
to  pass,  then  know  that  he  is  near,  even  at  the  door — 
then  lift  up  your  heads  and  rejoice,  for  your  redemption 
draweth  nigh  !  " 

Events  Christ  Promised  to  Execute  at  His  Return. 

Concerning  Christ's  promised  return,  the  Apostle  Peter 
speaks  thus :  ''Knowing  this  first,  that  there  shall  come 
in  the  last  days,  scoffers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts 
(the  strongest  expression  of  desire)  saying,  Where  is  the 
promise  of  his  coming  ? — for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep  all 
things  continue  as  they  were  since  the  beginning  of  the 
creation  !  (2  Pet.  ^i'-  Z-)  That  we  have  come  into  the 
days  here  predicted  is  evinced  by  the  existence  of  this 
significant  event,  led  on  by  the  career  of  Ingersoll. 
While  those  who  study  the  record  rejoice  that  their  re- 
demption draweth  near,  the  others  scoff  at  the  idea  of 
Christ's  being  near,  and  act  as  though  their  wilful  igno- 
rance and  unbelief  would  prevent  his  coming. 

Christ  repeated  the  promise  for  the  last  time — in  the 
last  book  of  the  Bible — the  last  chapter  of  that  book,  thus  : 
"Behold!   I  come  and  my  reward  is  with  me  and  my 


INTRODUCTION.  XVll 

work  before  me  to  give  to  every  man  according  to  his 
works  !  He  that  testifieth  these  things  saith,  Surely  I 
come  quickly  !  Amen  ! — even  so.  Come,  Lord  Jesus  !  " 
To  show  that  prev'ailing  ignorance  and  aversion  in  our 
day  to  have  Christ  come  according  to  his  promise,  we  may 
ask  how  many  would  give  such  a  response  to  the  an- 
nouncement as  that  here  given  by  John?  Upon  this 
question,  and  according  to  the  same  record,  the  sentiment 
of  the  world  will  always  remain  the  same  as  divided  by 
the  two  classes;  hence,  we  also  read :  ''But  the  day  of 
the  Lord  so  cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night :  for  when 
they  shall  say  peace  and  safety,  then  sudden  destruction 
cometh  upon  them  !  "  ' '  But  ye  brethren  are  not  in 
darkness,  that  that  day  shall  overtake  you  as  a  thief.  Ye 
are  all  the  children  of  light  and  the  children  of  day  !  ' ' 
The  greatest  advantage,  therefore,  in  revelling  these  events, 
is  to  give  men  a  broader  foundation  for  their  faith,  thus 
enabling  them  to  look  with  greater  confidence  for  the 
events  of  the  future  part  of  the  record  ;  especially  those 
promises  and  threatenings  concerning  the  future  world. 

Now,  if  this  world -long  line  of  facts  and  events  have 
been  revelled  and  recorded — and  by  the  study  of  Scripture 
— natural  science,  and  history,  may  be  understood,  does 
it  not  demonstrate  the  author  to  have  been  the  creator 
Himself?  This  proposition  being  established,  then,  no 
pretended  testimony  of  religious  history,  or  of  philosophi- 
cal science,  can  disturb  it.  That  such  are  shown  by  the 
Scriptures  to  be  the  essential  relation  between  their  state- 
ments— facts  of  history  and  those  of  natural  science,  it 
follows  that  there  can  be  no  evidence  in  defence  of 
atheism,  whatever  its  seeming,  or  of  any  other  form  of 
skepticism  or  infidelity,  however  plausible  its  appearance 
or  attractive  its  guise  ! 

W7iy  Has  Skepticisvi  Increased  m  Our  Day  ? 

Why,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  has  skepticism  or  infideUty 
so  increased,  especially  in  our  day  ?  The  answer  is  im- 
plied in  the  above  argument,  namely,  as  the  knowledge 
of  these  sources  of  information  which  establish  the  truth 


XVlll  INTRODUCTION. 

must  be  had,  as  the  remedy,  so  general  ignorance  of  them 
must  be  the  cause  of  the  skepticism  :  false  science,  false 
l^hilosophy,  and  false  religion,  in  theory  and  practice, 
flourish  because  of  the  prevailing  ignorance  concerning 
them.  For  example,  ignorance  of  the  divine  authenticity 
of  Scripture  results  from  ignorance  of  its  prophetic  teach- 
ing and  historic  record  of  its  fulfilment ;  and  ignorance 
of  true  science  results  from  the  adoption  of  the  conclu- 
sions of  the  so-called  modern  scientists,  or  its  authors,  all 
of  whom  admit  that  its  basis  is  only  hypothesis,  and 
therefore  without  evidence.  Hence,  the  only  course  to 
be  pursued  against  the  skeptics,  or  to  prevent  others  from 
becoming  such,  is  the  presentation  to  their  minds  of  the 
true  teaching  of  Scripture,  and  philosophical  science. 

If,  therefore,  the  flood  of  skepticism  is  ever  to  be  re- 
strained, such  knowledge  must  be  obtained  at  whatever 
cost,  or  however  arduous  the  task  of  acquiring  it ;  and 
this  book  will  do  precisely  the  desired  work  !  The  ques- 
tion is  not  whether  unbelief  is  to  become  general  and 
Christianity  destroyed  ;  for  it  is  the  same  as  though  de- 
stroyed to  every  lost  man  !  Our  work  is  to  enlighten  and 
save  individuals,  and  not  to  have  Christ  professed  by  na- 
tions or  generations,  for  that  would  make  it  popular,  and 
popular  Christianity  begets  formalists,  bigots,  and  hypo- 
crites— always  bearing  these  marks. 

Thomas  Paine  and  Robert  G.  IngersolV  s  Coming. 

That  the  enemy  has  come  in  like  a  flood,  no  observing 
mind  will  deny ;  and  there  appears  to  be  no  effectual 
standard  lifted  against  him,  and  if  we  have  been  unable 
to  prevent  his  coming,  and  poisonous  work,  how  can  we  be 
expected,  without  other  weapons,  to  beat  him  back  and 
counteract  his  work?  It  is  true  the  ''Spirit  of  the  Lord 
will  lift  up  a  standard  against  him  ;  "  but  who  will  be  the 
standard-bearer?  The  i)lan  of  God  is  to  save  men  from 
error  by  men.  He,  therefore,  holds  every  man  recipro- 
cally responsible  for  tlie  discharge  of  his  personal  duty 
toward  his  fellow-man.  It  will  be  no  excuse  that  he  is 
not  qualified  to  extract  the  poison  from  the  mind  of  his 


INTRODUCTION.  XIX 

neighbor,  if  the  antidote  in  the  shape  of  a  book  is  within 
his  reach  to  put  into  his  hands  by  a  gift  or  recommenda- 
tion ;  for  it  is  written,  and  by  the  coming  judge  him- 
self:  **  And  that  servant  which  knew  his  Lord's  will,  and 
prepared  not  Jiimself,  neither  did  according  to  his  will, 
shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes."      (Luke  12  :  47.) 

The  wonderful  progress  of  skepticism  in  modern 
times  cannot  be  better  illustrated  than  by  considering 
the  facts  attending  the  appearance  of  two  notable  char- 
acters in  our  country,  one  of  them  about  seventy -five 
years  ago,  and  the  other  at  the  present  day — Thomas 
Paine  and  Robert  G.  Ingersoll. 

After  publishing  his  ''Age  of  Reason,"  Paine  came 
to  this  country.  Here  he  was  looked  upon  by  the  people 
with  utter  contempt,  who  in  derision  they  called  "  Tom 
Paine  !  ' '  No  periodical  of  that  day  condescended  to 
do  him  honor,  or  publish  his  infidel  sentiments,  and  a 
public  delivery  of  them  would  have  been  suppressed  by 
violence.  In  fact,  there  was  no  city  in  the  civilized 
world  in  which  the  people  would  have  permitted  him  to 
publicly  repeat  the  blasphemies  and  vulgarisms  of  his 
"Age  of  Reason;  "  not  even  Paris,  except  during  the 
short  period  of  the  "  Reign  of  Terror,"  which  was  itself 
the  culmination  of  the  progress  of  atheism  ! 

But  in  our  day,  Paine  has  his  thousands  of  admirers, 
who  build  monuments  over  his  ashes,  around  which  large 
assemblies  gather  to  do  him  honor  ;  and  men  stand  up  in 
what  are  called  Christian  pulpits,  and  pronounce  enco- 
miums upon  his  character.  It  must  also  be  remembered 
that  Paine  was  only  a  deist,  and  in  his  "  Age  of  Reason  " 
presents  conclusive  arguments  from  nature  in  proof  of  the 
existence  of  a  personal  God  as  the  creator  of  the  world, 
which  we  have  elsewhere  quoted  against  the  atheists. 

But  in  our  day  Ingersoll,  an  atheist,  makes  his  appear- 
ance, and  is  elected  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  in  the  House  of  Representatives  makes  allusions  to 
his  Godless  sentiments,  without  evoking  a  rebuke.  He  is 
hailed  as  the  interpreter  of  liberty,  and  of  the  glorious 
progress  of  the  age  ;  and  if  a  judge  passes  sentence  on  him 
for  the  violation  of  the  laws  against  blasphemy,  he  goes 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

about  the  country  abusing  him  and  the  laws,  as  being 
behind  the  age;  and  for  doing  which  his  audiences  voci- 
ferously applaud  him.  He  is  interviewed  by  newspaper 
reporters,  even  for  his  opinions  about  the  state  of  Chris- 
tianity, whether  it  was  almost  dead,  the  replies  to  which 
the  press  spreads  before  the  people  as  its  choicest  reading 
matter,  and  the  people  endorse  its  action  by  their  enlarged 
patronage. 

In  contrast  to  his  public  reception  and  in  cities  where 
Paine  was  repudiated,  Ingersoll's  audiences  have  packed 
the  largest  houses  from  pit  to  dome,  and  paid  fabulous 
prices  to  hear  his  iconoclastic  tirades  against  all  the 
gods,  among  whom  he  most  blasphemously  ranks  the 
living  God  that  made  him ;  and  his  impious  bravado 
against  God  Almighty,  evokes  the  loudest  applause. 
The  secular  press  re-echoes  his  harangues  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  indeed  of  the  civil- 
ized world,  while  many  of  the  papers  refuse  to  publish 
the  most  conclusive  arguments  in  opposition  to  his  il- 
logical and  unphilosophical  fallacies. 

When  a  similar  effort  was  made  a  century  ago  by 
deism  and  atheism  combined,  it  was  met  by  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  of  Europe  and  the  managers  of  the  period- 
ical press  of  that  day  because  they  were  diligent  students 
of  the  Scriptures  and  of  philosophical  science,  and  with 
such  weapons  its  unfounded  and  blasphemous  assumptions 
were  beaten  back  for  nearly  a  century  ;  nor  would  it 
ever  have  gained  its  present  popularity  had  the  religious 
ministry  of  the  present  day  been  as  well  qualified  to 
meet  it  as  then,  or  had  it  not  been  aided  by  Lyell's 
skeptical  geology,  Darwin's  Godless  evolution,  and 
Proctor's  atheistic  astronomy ;  all  of  which  teach  that 
the  world  and  its  inhabitants  came  into  existence  without 
miraculous  interference.  By  degrees  these  sentiments 
have  insinuated  themselves  even  into  the  schools  of  the 
prophets,  from  which  ministers  ofreHgion  graduate;  and 
how  can  they  be  sui)posed  capable  of  exposing  these 
errors?  Instead  of  studying  to  be  better  acquainted 
with  natural  science  than  these  authors,  they  seem  to 
have  contented  themselves  by  giving  IngersoUism  and  all 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 

Other  skeptical  isms  a  "  wide  birth,"  as  they  express  it ; 
as  if,  by  letting  error  alone,  it  would  die  of  itself. 

They  have,  however,  pursued  this  policy  until  it  has 
become  evident  that  in  their  hands  the  Gospel  has  al- 
most utterly  failed  to  reach  and  convert  the  men  of  our 
age,  most  of  whom  have  heard  or  read  Ingersoll.  Not 
that  they  profess  skej^ticism,  or  that  they  even  desire  it 
to  be  true;  but  the  poison  of  it  and  that  of  evolution,  is 
in  their  mind,  and  must  be  extracted.  The  deceptive 
reasoning  must  be  exposed  by  true  reasoning,  and  the 
teaching  claimed  for  the  so-called  facts  of  science  must 
be  shown  to  be  without  logical  force  or  defence. 

The  so-called  theological  dogmas  which  rest  solely  on 
human  authority  must  be  so  far  abandoned  that  the 
Bible  will  not  be  held  responsible  for  any  sentiment 
which  cannot  be  vindicated  by  its  entire  harmony ;  and 
that,  too,  when  interpreted  by  itself.  Who,  then,  will 
comply  with  the  injunction,  "  Lift  ye  up  a  standard  for 
the  people?  "  and  report,  "  Here  am  I,  send  me  !  " 

Limit  of  Mental  Conception — Philosophy  of  Creation. 

If  nature  as  a  whole  came  into  existence  of  herself, 
then  each  particular  part  did  so  as  well,  and  which  would 
have  been  as  true  of  man,  the  highest  of  her  intelligen- 
cies.  The  opposite  hypothesis  involves  the  absurdity 
that  the  weakest  and  most  helpless  was  the  most  capable 
of  self-existence.  If  nature  thus  originated,  then  those 
things  which  manifest  the  greatest  degree  of  mechanical 
skill  in  their  construction  would  be  the  work  of  the 
greatest  mechanical  ability.  As  man  himself  is  the 
most  distinguished  part  of  nature,  and  could  create,  or 
develop  every  lower  part,  and  could  not  create  himself, 
he  must  have  been  the  work  of  an  intelligent  being  as 
much  higher  in  the  scale  as  to  qualify  him  to  have  been 
man's  creator ;  and  the  power  is  in  the  degree  of  its  mani- 
festation. 

The  word  ''create,"  as  used  in  the  Bible,  is  synony- 
mous with  ''  make  "  and  ''  form,"  and  expresses  the  idea 
of  changing  one  form  of  matter  into  another,  and  never 


xxii  INTRODUCTION. 

in  the  sense  of  making  things  out  of  nothing — ''The 
Lord  God  formed, — created, — made  man  out  of  the  dust 
of  the  earth,"  not  out  of  nothing  !  The  creations  of 
man  are  Umited  to  those  of  art.  Select  the  most  intelh- 
gent  botanist,  and  ask  him  to  ascertain  all  the  chemical 
properties  contained  in  a  stem  of  the  simplest  moss — sup- 
posing it  to  be  the  simplest  plant,  and  combine  them  in 
the  proportions  to  form  a  stem  which,  when  set  in  soil, 
would  grow  and  produce  the  spore  or  function  of  seed, 
and  which  would  reproduce  its  kind  ;  and  would  he  not 
be  as  incompetent  to  the  task  as  to  make  the  w^orld  itself? 
But  such  incompetency  by  no  means  proves  him  to  have 
less  creative  skill  than  nature  ;  for  he  can  create  such 
things  as  steam-engines,  electric  telegraphs,  phonographic 
speaking  machines,  etc.,  while  nature  can  create  nothing, 
can  originate  nothing.  The  skill  and  power  she  mani- 
fests is  wholly  involuntary — evolving  that  which  was  in- 
volved in  her  by  the  knowledge  and  power  of  her  Crea- 
tor. In  fact,  nature  has  not  as  much  ability  to  perform 
the  least  act  as  that  possessed  by  the  minutest  animalcule 
which  swims  in  a  drop  of  bog- water ;  for  it  moves  in  any 
direction,  or  ceases  to  move  at  pleasure,  while  helpless — 
lifeless  nature  can  only  act  or  move  in  fixed  grooves,  ac- 
cording to  the  power  imposed  upon  her,  and  cannot 
deviate  from  the  course  marked  out  for  her,  or  cease  to 
act  under  it.  Which,  then,  is  the  greater,  the  lifeless  solar 
system,  which  cannot  originate  the  least  possible  pheno- 
menon, or  the  insect  that  moves  or  stops  at  will  ?  Hence 
the  superiority  of  man  to  lifeless  nature,  and  that  of 
man's  Maker,  to  man  himself.  How,  then,  could  nature 
have  brought  herself  into  existence  ?  The  very  question 
shocks  the  simplest  degree  of  reason,  and  intensifies  it  as 
the  reason  grows  profound.  With  greater  propriety  can 
it  be  said  that  man  originated  himself,  and  still  greater 
that  God  originated  himself,  than  that  the  insect  caused 
its  own  existence  ;  for  the  greater  the  work,  the  greater 
the  workman,  is  an  unanswerable  postulate. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXlll 


Axiomatic  Defence  of  Theism — From  Nothifig,  Nothing 
Comes  / 

Although  to  trained  thinkers  no  argument  can  make 
the  axiom,  ''From  nothing,  nothing  comes,"  more  con- 
clusive ;  yet  the  popular  mind  may  be  aided  by  a  few 
remarks  upon  the  most  important  facts  thus  comprehend- 
ed. For  example,  if  God  is  nothing,  He  did  not  bring 
Himself  into  existence ;  for,  from  nothing,  nothing  comes. 
The  converse  of  this  is,  that  if  God  exists,  He  is  some- 
thing. As  God  exists,  and  is  something,  He  did  always 
exist ;  as  something  cannot  come  from  nothing.  Space 
is  that  in  which  things  exist,  but  of  itself  is  nothing  and 
always  was  nothing,  and  always  will  be  nothing,  as  from 
nothing,  nothing  comes  !  As  God  exists.  He  must  have 
dimensions,  and  a  location  in  space. 

Matter,  in  its  homogeneous  or  heterogeneous  particles, 
exists,  and  did  not  come  from  nothing  ;  for  from  nothing, 
nothing  comes  ;  therefore  matter  always  was.  Here,  then 
is  space,  mxatter,  and  God,  existing  as  philosophical  and 
scientific  necessities,  rendering  the  idea  of  bringing  things 
from  nothing  or  its  opposite — annihilation,  impossible. 
It  may  be  objected  that  this  gives  us  two  eternities — 
which  is  absurd ;  but  it  does  no  such  thing.  This  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  the  term  ''eternity"  means 
simply  duration,  or  unmeasured  time ;  but  God,  and 
everything  else  are  things  existing  in  duration,  which 
are  no  more  parts  of  the  duration  than  that  when  the 
thing,  man,  is  a  hundred  years  old,  he  is  the  hundred 
years  itself !  Whoever,  therefore,  denies  the  eternity  of 
homogeneous  matter,  puts  himself  in  contradiction  to 
this  self-evident  truth,  and  declares  that  from  nothing, 
something  comes ;  or  that  something  may  become 
nothing,  or  be  annihilated. 

Such  a  sentiment  would  no  more  be  true,  though 
taught  in  the  Bible,  and  claimed  God  as  its  author,  than 
that  truth  can  contradict  itself,  or  that  natural  impossi- 
bilities may  become  possible  ! 

It  is  not,  however,  taught  in  that  book ;  in  every  in- 


XXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

Stance  where  the  creation  or  formation  of  things  are  de- 
scribed, the  process  is  by  changing  one  thing  into  another; 
it  is  simply  transformation. 

To  say  that  the  Creator  is  the  God  of  the  pantheist, 
in  nowise  effects  the  fact  of  his  personahty  ;  indeed,  it 
asserts  it,  by  making  him  a  part  of  every  person  and 
thing  existing.  Its  absurdity,  however,  consists  in  con- 
founding him  with  the  world  he  made,  thereby  making 
him  his  own  creator. 

According  to  human  conception,  if  a  compound  sub- 
stance or  an  organic  being  exists,  it,  or  he,  must  have 
been  made  into  that  form,  implying  the  prior  existence 
of  the  maker.  But  it  may  be  contended  that  this  maker 
must  also  have  had  a  maker,  and  so  on,  without  the  least 
prospect  of  arriving  at  the  first ;  but  this  is  on  the  sup- 
position that  human  conception  is  without  limit.  And  it 
is  just  herein  lies  the  error ;  but  to  deny  there  was  a  first, 
is  as  absurd  as  to  deny  there  is  a  second,  and  that  there  is 
either  no  God,  or  there  has  been  an  endless  succession  of 
gods,  as  well  as  things. 

The  fact  of  the  succession  of  organic — living  things,  is, 
that  they  begin  and  end — are  born  and  die,  either  as 
generations  or  individuals.  It  is  another  fact  that  if  we 
begin  at  the  last  and  count  back,  we  come  to  the  first,  and 
this  demonstrates  there  was  a  first. 

These  existences  are  in  lines,  and  not  in  circles.  To 
be  in  a  circle  which  has  no  beginning  or  end,  would 
require  that  the  whole  number  of  living  beings  and  things 
must  have  existed  simultaneously  without  increase  or  dim- 
inution ;  that  in  all  history  such  should  have  been  the 
condition  of  things  and  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  world. 
From  such  a  state  of  facts  the  conclusion  of  no  beginning 
and  no  end  would  have  been  legitimate ;  but  as  the 
reverse  of  this  is  true,  therefore  the  world  and  its  inhab- 
itants owe  their  origin  to  a  prior  existing  being,  and  of 
sufficient  mechanical  skill  and  power,  to  have  been  the 
Creator  of  all. 

Let  us  suppose  that  a  man  is  the  most  perfect  piece  of 
workmanship  which  his  Maker  is  capable  of  constructing, 
and  that  the  construction  of  a  steam-engine  is  the  most  per- 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

feet  pieee  of  mechanism  of  which  man  is  capable  of  pro- 
ducing ;  do  we  not  see  that  there  is  just  as  great  a  difference 
between  the  mechanic  who  made  the  steam-engine  and 
himself  as  between  himself  and  the  mechanic  who  made 
him,  and  that  it  would  be  just  as  absurd  for  the  man -me- 
chanic to  deny  the  existence  of  his  Maker,  or  that  he  was 
made,  as  for  the  steam-engine  to  deny  the  existence  of  its 
maker,  or  to  say  to  another  such  engine,  unless  you  can  give 
me  a  clear  conception  of  the  mechanic  who  made  you,  and 
also  of  Him  who  made  him,  I  will  not  believe  a  man  made 
you,  or  that  there  is  any  such  being  as  man  existing  ?  The 
natural  principle  is,  that  no  being  is  capable  of  conceiving 
or  comprehending  the  mechanical  principles  involved  in 
his  own  organization,  infinitely  less  the  history  and  great- 
ness of  his  Maker. 

In  fact  the  power  of  any  mind  or  being  is  limited  to 
the  greatest  and  most  complicated  piece  of  work  he  can 
conceive  and  construct,  or  have  constructed  under  his 
dictation  !  Is  it  not,  therefore,  just  as  reasonable  for  any 
piece  of  man's  work  to  deny  the  existence  of  its  maker 
because  it  cannot  conceive  his  greatness  and  origin,  as  for 
the  creature,  man,  to  pursue  the  same  course  of  skepti- 
cism in  regard  to  his  Maker  ? 

It  is  not  that  there  are  no  beings  higher  in  the  scale, 
but  that  a  conception  of  them,  in  the  sense  of  comprehen- 
sion as  to  their  nature  and  origin,  is  beyond  ;  not  contrary 
or  repugnant  to  the  capacity  of  all  grades  of  organism 
below  them  ;  and  the  folly  lies  in  the  assumption  and  pre- 
sumption that,  as  a  comprehensive  answer  cannot  be 
given  to  the  question,  Whence  came  this  superior  being? 
— and  as  I  know  not,  none  such  exists  !  Up  to  this  point 
all  is  resonable,  philosophical,  scientific,  and  logical,  and 
the  skeptic  may  have  a  very  large  amount  of  knowledge ; 
but  because  he  is  incapable  with  all  others  of  knowing 
one  thing  more,  he  therefore  knows  nothing ;  and  as  he  is 
too  proud  to  stand  alone  in  total  ignorance,  he  declares 
all  other  men  equally  ignorant,  and  would  acknowledge  it 
if  they  were  not  superstitious  :  this  is  good  agnosticism  ! 
It  knows  nothing. 

If  measured  by  such  a  standard,  each  lower  being  or 


XXVI  ^  INTRODUCTION. 

thing  in  the  scale  is  atheistic  to  everyone  of  a  higher 
degree.  A  man  may  know  nothing  of  the  mechanical 
organization  or  chemical  properties  of  the  sun,  or  of  its 
origin  ;  but  would  that  prove  its  non-existence,  or  that 
all  vegetable  and  plant  life  on  our  planet  did  not  dei:)end 
upon  it  for  continued  existence? 

''  I  am  that  I  am  !  "  is  what  the  Creator  knows  of  him- 
self, and  declares:  "  This  is  my  memorial  forever  ;  "  and 
no  words  could  convey  to  man  a  clearer  conception  of  his 
origin  than  this  declaration  !  If  the  mechanic  should  say 
to  the  machine  he  made,  "  You  owe  to  me  your  existence, 
as  I  owe  mine  to  my  Maker,"  would  the  machine  be 
enlightened  ?  Would  it  not  have  been  just  as  much  so  as 
if  he  had  said  :    "I  am  that  I  am  !  " 

Philosophy  of  Cause  and  Effect — Its  Sequence — Creation. 

The  only  correct  definition  which  it  seems  to  us  can 
be  given  to  ''Cause,"  is  to  ascribe  its  source  to  mind, 
or  to  that  alone  which  is  in  some  degree  intelligent ;  and 
this  includes  everything  endowed  with  voluntary  motion. 
Every  species  of  living  beings,  from  the  lowest  up  to  the 
Creator  himself,  possesses  the  power  of  causation  ;  each  be- 
ing able  to  produce  effects  greater  or  less,  according  to  its 
own  order.  No  existence  or  phenomena  are  better,  or 
more  universally  known,  or  can  be  depended  upon  with 
as  much  certainty  as  that  of  cause  and  effect. 

An  effect  is  that  which  invariably  follows  a  certain 
combination  of  things,  or  elements,  while  that  which  has 
the  power  of  causation  may  act  within  the  same  sphere  an 
indefinite  number  of  times,  and  each  time  differently. 
The  mind  that  caused  the  man  unwittingly  to  walk  into 
the  snare  laid  for  him,  causes  him  to  avoid  it  the  second 
time  it  is  presented ;  while  the  great  sun,  shining  in  her 
strength,  must  suffer  eclipse  every  time  the  little  moon 
presents  its  sombre  intervening  disc.  We  speak  of  second 
causes  in  the  movements  of  inorganic  nature  ;  but  if  in 
any  other  sense  than  that  of  accommodation,  it  is  an 
incorrect  expression  ;  for  all  of  these  are  themselves  effects, 
and  these  in  turn  are  effects  of  effects.     And   this  being 


INTRODUCTION.  XXVli 

the  quality  of  all  the  phenomena,  from  that  of  the  small- 
est atom  of  matter  possessing  chemical  affinity  or  electri- 
cal endowment,  up  to  every  member  of  the  solar  system 
— each  has  the  quality  to  effect  another  ;  but  all  is  the 
work  of  compulsion.  Within  the  telescopic  or  micro- 
scopic range  of  vision,  or  within  the  electrical  or  chemi- 
cal laboratory  of  lifeless  nature,  not  the  smallest  cause 
exists. 

We  may  state  the  argument  thus  :  All  nature  is  effect ; 
effect  must  have  cause ;  cause  can  only  reside  in  the  mind 
of  a  living  person  ;  every  such  person  may  act,  or  not 
act  as  he  pleases,  at  any  given  time  ;  for  if  he  must  act, 
he  is  an  effect  of  that  which  compels  him.  But  as  man 
is  a  common  part  of  nature  itself,  not  being  the  cause  of 
his  own  existence,  he  is  the  effect  of  a  prior  cause. 

Still  every  branch  of  nature  had  a  cause  w^ho  must  have 
been  her  intelligent  Creator,  free  to  act — to  make  or  not 
make  the  world  as  he  pleased  and  in  the  fashion  he 
pleased.  Therefore,  all  nature  being  effect,  her  cause 
must  have  been  prior  and  superior  to  nature,  therefore, 
supernatural.  It  is  immaterial  so  far  as  the  science  of 
nature  is  concerned  by  what  name  this  being  may  be 
known.  He  is  the  living,  thinking,  personal  Creator  of 
the  world ;  consequently  the  proprietor  of  its  living, 
thinking  inhabitants,  who,  because  of  this  relation,  owe 
him  supreme  allegiance ;  which  they  must  pay,  or  forfeit 
their  right  to  citizenship  in  His  coming  new  world  ! 

lP7iy    We  Make  Ingersoll   Our   Target. 

This  conclusion  simplifies  our  work  to  that  of  exposing 
the  sophistry  and  false  pretension  repeated  by  its  mouth- 
piece, Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  around  whom  in  our  day 
the  defence  of  freethinkerism  (which  embodies  every 
form  of  skepticism  and  unbelief)  centres,  and  this  because 
all  others  concede  him  to  be  its  ablest  defender ;  and  this, 
too,  is  the  reason  why  we  make  him  our  target ! 


xxviii  INTRODUCTION. 


The   Power   of   Truth  —  A71   Example  —  A    Colloquial 
Spar  with  a  Skeptic. 

This  man  was  Mr.  Charles  Hunt,  who  was  employed 
eighteen  years  on  the  New  York  Tribune^  and  part  of  the 
time  on  the  editorial  staff. 

By  request  Mr.  Hunt  carefully  read  the  manuscript  of 
this  book,  after  which  the  author  said  :  "  Mr.  H.,  how 
much  do  we  differ  in  sentiment  upon  the  fundamental 
principles  of  this  manuscript?"  ''Well,"  he  replied, 
"  I  do  not  know."  "  Will  you  please  to  answer  me  a  few 
questions  that  we  may  know,  and  first  do  you  now  know, 
just  as  you  know  anything  else  which  you  have  not  tested 
by  your  senses,  that  there  is  a  personal,  living  God  ? ' ' 
"Yes,  I  cannot  avoid  that  conclusion  which  these  facts 
and  arguments  seem  to  establish."  ''  For  the  same  rea- 
sons, do  you  accept  the  conclusion  that  this  God  was  the 
Creator  of  the  world  and  its  inhabitants,  and  that,  there- 
fore, they  did  not  come  into  existence  by  what  is  called 
evolution?  "  ''  Yes,  I  do  ;  but  now  I  do  not  know  any 
more,  I  do  not  know  where  this  God  is,  or  how  He  came 
to  exist."  I  rephed  :  ''  Well,  Mr.  H.,  does  that  which 
you  do  not  know  militate  against  or  destroy  that  which 
you  do  know  ?  "     To  this  he  replied,  ''  No,  it  does  not." 

But  do  not  these  admissions  involve  more  knowledge 
than  this?  For  example,  would  a  being  with  the  wis- 
dom nature  manifests  in  every  part  of  the  creation,  and 
in  the  utmost  detailed  interdependence,  and  all  governed 
by  inherent  laws  with  penalties  annexed,  which  execute 
themselves,  have  left  man,  the  highest  in  the  scale  with- 
out law  for  his  government,  and  especially  relative  to  his 
mental  and  moral  constitution  ;  besides,  would  he  not 
desire  this  highest  part  of  his  work  to  please  and  obey 
him?"  ''To  these  questions,"  he  said,  "Affirmative 
answers  must  be  given  according  to  the  common  princi- 
ples of  mental  and  moral  philosophy."  "Well,  if  the 
man  was  capable  of  obeying  and  pleasing  his  Creator, 
would  he  not  be  capable  of  disobeying'  and  displeasing 
him ;  does  not  the  one  imply  the  other,  or  would  it  not 


INTRODUCTION.  XXIX 

be  a  natural  impossibility  to  make  a  being  who  could 
obey  and  could  not  disobey  ;  and  can  any  being  make 
an  impossibility  possible?"  Mr.  H.  replied:  "These 
principles  seem  to  imply  each  other  and  render  such  con- 
clusions unanswerable."  Another  question  is  :  ''Would 
the  man  have  known  what  acts  would  have  been  pleasing 
and  obedience,  and  what  displeasing  and  disobedience, 
had  not  the  Creator  have  said  to  him  what  things  he 
might  do  and  what  he  might  not,  toward  himself  and 
his  fellow-men?"  The  answer  was:  ''He  could  not 
otherwise  have  known." 

Question  :  "  Could  a  being  thus  endowed  be  forced  to 
perform  a  mental  or  moral  act  which  would  have  virtuous 
or  vicious  character,  or  be  praise  or  blameworthy ;  but 
which  character  must  have  been  attributed  to  him  who 
exerted  the  force  ?  "  "  This  seems  to  be  logical  reason- 
ing," was  the  reply.  Question:  "After  creating  a 
being  thus  high  in  the  scale,  can  he  be  governed  in  any 
other  manner  than  by  inducement ;  the  promise  of  pos- 
session, or  fear  of  loss  ?  "  Answer:  "There  does  not 
seem  to  be  any  other."  "  Let  me  ask  one  more  ques- 
tion :  "  Would  it  not  be  a  greater  pleasure  to  the  Creator 
to  receive  the  hearty  devotion  and  loyal  obedience  of  one 
such  being  than  that  derived  from  the  fixed  involuntary 
movements  of  all  the  creation  besides?  "  Answer:  "  It 
would." 

"  Now,  Mr.  Hunt,  as  it  is  the  highest  duty  of  man 
prescribed  in  revealed  Christianity  to  please  and  obey  his 
Creator,  involving  everything  of  a  lesser  nature,  and  as  you 
have  admitted  the  existence,  imposition,  and  discharge 
of  these  to  be  philosophic  and  scientific  reasoning,  with- 
out the  least  reference  to  anything  taught  in  the  Bible, 
must  not  its  revealed  system  have  originated  and  been  re- 
vealed to  mankind  by  the  Creator  himself?  "  To  which 
Mr.  H.  replied:  "I  cannot  conceive  that  any  other  an- 
swer to  such  a  conclusion  can  be  given." 


ZOROASTER   A    THEIST. 


CHAP  T E  R     1 . 

ANCIENT    PHILOSOPHERS    THEISTS,    NOT    ATHEISTS. 

It  is  historic  that  the  great  philosophers  and  reformers 
of  the  nations  and  generations  of  antiquity  beheved  in 
one  God  as  the  Creator  of  the  world,  and  considered  man- 
made  gods  merely  as  symbolic  representatives  of  the 
supreme  God,  as  Plato  and  others  called  Him.  There  are 
three  of  the  wisest  of  these  ancient  men  who  were  at 
once  philosophers,  statesmen,  philanthropists,  and  religious 
reformers,  and  who  were  most  prominent  in  moulding  the 
civil,  social,  and  religious  heathen  world,  and  whose  writ- 
ings have  come  down  to  us.  Some  of  these  flourished  at 
such  early  periods  that  the  traditional  history  of  the 
world's  origin  had  not  become  very  much  corrupted  from 
the  account  of  its  creation  recorded  in  the  book  of  Gen- 
esis. We  refer  to  Zoroaster,  the  Persian  ;  Confucius,  the 
Chinaman,  and  Buddha,  of  India. 

According  to  the  best  evidence,  Zoroaster  was  a  native 
of  Media,  in  Persia,  and  lived  under  the  reign  of  Hys- 
taspes,  the  father  of  Darius,  about  six  hundred  years  b.  c. 
He  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  all  time.  His  work 
was  twofold — to  win  the  people  back  to  the  worship  of  one 
God,  and  to  develop  them  into  the  higher  phase  of  agri- 
culturists ;  and  as  the  sun  was  the  great  instrument  of  veg- 
etable life  upon  our  planet,  as  the  blessed  symbol  of  its 
Maker,  to  teach  that  the  natural  work  of  man  was  the 
cultivation  of  earthly  i^roducts. 


32  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

He  was  a  reformer  and  a  protester  against  polytheism 
and  nomadism  (wandering  shepherds,  feeding  their  flocks 
wherever  they  could  find  pasture  growing  without  culti- 
vation). To  the  Supreme  Being  whom  his  predecessors 
had  worshipped,  he  applies  the  name  Ah-u-ro ;  and  as 
Lord,  God,  and  Almighty,  Ma-zad-o.  This  name  denotes 
a  conception  of  the  Deity  almost  identical  with  Elohim, 
or  Jehovah — of  course  derived  from  the  Scripture  !  This 
title  or  name  was  first  announced  by  God  to  Moses  in  the 
year  of  the  world  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
six,  which  proves  that  Zoroaster  flourished  at  a  later  pe- 
riod. 

Zoroaster  was  the  author  of  the  original  Zendavesta, 
very  much  of  which  has  been  lost.  The  following  are 
said  to  be  two  of  its  most  important  passages — the  one  a 
metrical  speech,  delivered  by  Za-ra-thus-tra  Spi-ta-ma 
himself  (who  was  one  of  Zoroaster's  disciples  and  greatest 
preachers)  when  standing  before  the  sacred  fire,  to  a 
numerously  attended  meeting  of  his  countrymen.  The 
chief  tendency  of  this  speech  is  to  induce  them  to  leave 
the  worship  of  the  Deva,  or  gods — polytheism — and  bow 
only  before  Ah-u-ro  Ma-zad-o  !  and  to  separate  them- 
selves entirely  from  idolaters.  He  says:  "I  will  now 
repeat  to  you  who  are  assembled  here,  the  sayings  of  the 
most  wise,  and  the  praises  of  the  living  God,  the  songs  of 
the  good  spirit,  the  sublime  truth  which  I  see  arising  out 
of  these  sacred  flames.  You  shall  hearken  therefore  to  the 
soul  of  nature,  that  is,  to  plough  and  cultivate  the  earth. 
Contemplate  the  beams  of  fire  with  a  pious  mind  !  Every- 
one, both  men  and  women,  ought  to-day  to  choose  their 
religion  between  the  Deva  and  the  Ah-u-ro.  Ye  offspring 
of  renowned  ancestors,  awake  !  with  me  to  approve  the 
object  of  my  love,  whom  I  present  before  you  at  this  mo- 
ment, the  Ah-u-ro  Ma-zad-o  !  " 

After  declaring  the  existence  of  a  good  and  bad  spirit, 
a  God  and  devil,  he  thus  speaks  of  immortahty :  ''Let 
us  be  such  as  to  hope  for  the  life  of  the  future.  The  pru- 
dent man  wishes  only  to  be  there,  where  wisdom  is  at 
home.  (It  was  about  this  time  that  Job,  of  the  same 
country,  was  in  doubt  about  his  immortality,  and  asked  : 


ANCIENT   PHILOSOPHERS   THEISTS.  33 

'^  If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again?  "  and  was  delivered 
from  it  by  a  clear  revelation  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  at  the  end  of  the  world,  when  he  also  would  be  home 
with  his  Ah-u-ro  Ma-zad-o  !  who,  in  Scripture,  is  often 
personified  by  Wisdom,"  another  title  of  God.) 

Our  next  extract  is  from  Agatha,  and  is  declared  to  be 
the  most  important  piece  of  literature  in  the  whole  Zend- 
avesta,  from  which  to  learn  Spitama's  exposition  of  the 
doctrine  of  Zoroaster.  ''Blessed  be  he,  blessed  are  all 
men,  to  whom  the  living  Wise,  of  his  own  command, 
should  grant  these  two  everlasting  favors — wholesomeness 
and  immortality — for  this  very  good  I  beseech  thee,  Ah- 
u-ro  Ma-zad-o  !  through  thy  angel  of  piety,  Ar-ma-i-ti, 
give  me  happiness,  the  good,  true  things,  and  the  posses- 
sion of  the  good  mind!  (How  much  like — "  Let  this 
mind  be  in  you  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  !") 
I  believe  thee  to  be  the  best  being  of  all ;  the  source 
of  light  for  the  world.  Everybody  shall  choose  thee, 
thou  hoKest  spirit,  Ah-u-ro  Ma-zad-o  !  Thou  createst 
all  good,  true  things  by  thy  good  mind,  and  promisest  us, 
who  believe  in  thee,  a  long  life  (everlasting  life).  Thus 
I  believe  in  thee  as  the  holy  God — thou  living  Wise ! 
I  beheve  thee  to  be  the  primeval  cause  of  life-in  the  crea- 
tion. Thou  hast  made  holy  customs  and  words.  (Here, 
one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  years  before 
Christ,  did  Zoroaster  know  that  the  words  of  God  were 
written,  from  which  he  had  learned  about  the  creation.) 
Thou  hast  given  a  bad  fortune — emptiness  to  the  base, 
and  a  good  one  to  the  good  man.  I  will  believe  in  thee, 
thou  glorious  God  !  and  in  the  last  future  period  of  cre- 
ation." This  shows  that  his  hope  centred  in  the  re- 
creation of  the  world — the  new  heavens  and  new  earth 
which  are  to  succeed  the  destruction  of  the  present  crea- 
tion in  the  last  period  of  time,  and  which  is  clearly  con- 
firmed in  the  Zend  literature. 

The  following  shows  the  sage,  searching  after  light  and 
truth  :  "  What  I  will  ask  tell  me,  thou  living  Wise  !  who 
was  in  the  beginning,  the  father  of  truth,  and  the  Creator  ! 
Who  made  the  sun  and  stars  !  Who  causes  the  moon  to 
increase  and  wane,   if  not  thee?     Who  is  holding  the 


THE  UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  MISSION  LIBRARY 

kin    r\\,,0^^ts\An    RrlifA      IIaui    Vnrl/    07      M    V 


34  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

earth  and  the  skies  above  us  ?  Who  is  in  the  winds  and 
storms,  that  they  so  quickly  run  ?  Who  is  the  Creator  of 
the  good-minded  beings,  thou  Wise?  Who  made  the 
light  of  good  effect  and  darkness  ?  Who  made  the  sleep 
of  good  effect  and  activity  ?  Who  made  the  morning, 
noon  and  night,  reminding  the  priest  of  his  duties  (the 
Scripture  offerings — the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice)  ? 
To  become  acquainted  with  these  things  I  approach  thee, 
thou  Wise,  holy  spirit — Creator  of  all  things  and  beings  !" 
— C  Encyclopedia  Britannica.") 

P kilos  op] ly  of  Confucius — He  a   Theist. 

According  to  Memceus,  one  of  his  distinguished  fol- 
lowers, Confucius  appeared  from  371  to  288  B.C. 

He  held  that  the  first  thing  to  be  done  by  a  state,  was 
the  rectification  of  names ;  and  his  whole  social  and  po- 
litical system  was  wrapped  up  in  the  sayings  :  "  Good 
government  obtained  when  the  ruler  was  ruler,  the 
minister — minister  ;  when  the  father  was  father,  and  the 
son — ^son.  Society,  he  considered,  was  made  up  of  five 
relationships  —  ruler  and  subject,  husband  and  wife, 
father  and  son,  elder  brothers  and  younger,  and  friends. 
There  was  rule  on  the  part  of  the  four  first,  and  submis- 
sion on  that  of  the  others.  The  rule  should  be  in  right- 
eousness and  sincerity."  *' Not  more  surely,"  he  said, 
*'  does  the  grass  bend  before  the  wind,  than  do  the 
masses  yield  to  the  will  of  those  above  them.  Give 
the  model  ruler,  and  the  model  people  will  forthwith 
appear,  and  the  common  people  could  make  the  model 
ruler.  They  could  tell  the  princes  of  the  states  what 
they  ought  to  be  ;  and  they  could  point  them  to  ex- 
amples of  perfect  virtue  in  former  times  ;  to  grand  sages 
who  lived  in  a  more  distant  golden  age." 

Foremost  among  the  duties  and  relations  of  human 
society,  says  this  writer,  ''We  must  rank  his  distinct 
enunciation  of  the  golden  rule,  deduced  by  him  from  the 
study  of  man's  mental  constitution.  Several  times  he 
gave  that  rule  in  these  words  :  'What  you  do  not  Hke 
when  done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others.'  " 


ANCIENT   PHILOSOPHERS   THEISTS.  35 

A  few  of  his  more  characteristic  sayings  may  be  given, 
the  pith  and  point  of  which  attest  his  discrimination  of 
character,  and  show  the  tendency  of  his  views  :  ' '  What 
the  superior  man  seeks,  is  himself;  what  the  small  man 
seeks,  is  in  others.  'Ilie  superior  man  is  dignified,  but 
does  not  wrangle ;  social,  but  not  a  partisan.  He  does 
not  promote  a  man  simply  because  of  his  words,  nor  does 
he  put  good  words  aside  because  of  the  man.  A  poor 
man  who  does  not  flatter,  and  a  rich  man  who  is  not 
proud,  are  passable  characters  ;  but  they  are  not  equal  to 
the  poor  who  are  yet  cheerful,  and  the  rich  who  yet  love 
the  rules  of  propriety.  Learning,  undignified,  is  perilous. 
In  style  all  that  is  required  is  that  it  convey  the  mean- 
ing. Extravagance  leads  to  insubordination,  and  parsi- 
mony to  meanness.  It  is  better  to  be  mean  than  insub- 
ordinate. A  man  can  enlarge  his  principles  ;  principles 
do  not  enlarge  the  man.      The  cautious  seldom  err." 

Sententious  sayings  like  these  have  gone  far  to  form 
the  ordinary  Chinese  character.  Hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  the  literati  can  repeat  every  sentence  in  the 
classical  books ;  the  masses  of  the  people  have  scores  of 
the  Confucian  maxims,  and  little  else  of  an  ethical 
nature  in  their  memories,  and  with  good  effect.  Con- 
fucius laid  no  claim  to  divine  revelation.  Twice  or 
thrice  he  intimated  that  he  had  a  mission  from  heaven, 
and  until  it  was  accomplished  he  was  safe  against  all 
attempts  to  injure  him.  But  his  teachings  (says  the 
writer)  were  singularly  devoid  of  reference  to  anything 
but  what  was  seen — and  temporal.  Man,  as  he  is,  and 
the  duties  belonging  to  him  in  society,  were  what  he 
concerned  himself  about.  He  held,  however,  that  man's 
nature  was  from  God  ;  harmonious  acting  out  of  it  was 
obedience  to  the  will  of  God  ;  and  the  violation  of  it 
was  disobedience.  But  there  was  a  striking  difference 
between  his  language  in  affirming  this  and  that  of  his 
own  ancient  models.  In  the  King  the  references  to  the 
Supreme  Being  are  abundant  ;  there  is  an  exulting, 
awfully  subhme  recognition  of  him  as  the  Almighty,  per- 
sonal ruler,  who  orders  the  course  of  nature  and  provi- 
dence.    With   Confucius,  the  vague,  impersonal  term — 


36  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

heaven,  took  the  place  of  the  divine  name — but  meant 
the  same. 

To  the  inquiry  of  Tze-ki,  he  rephed  :  "  While  you 
cannot  serve  men,  how  can  you  serve  God?"  which 
is  nothing  more  than  is  expressed  by  John,  thus :  *'  He 
that  loveth  not  his  brother,  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  can 
he  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen  ?  To  the  inquiry, 
''  What  becomes  of  a  man's  self,  when  he  has  passed 
from  the  stage  of  life?"  the  oracle  of  Confucius  was 
dumb ;  and  why  should  it  not  be  dumb,  when  the  ques- 
tion is  answered  by  the  questioner  ?  When  a  man's  own 
self  passes  from  the  stage  of  life,  why,  then,  his  own  self 
has  passed  from  the  stage  of  life,  and  his  own  self  is  dead 
and  will  so  remain  until  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day, 
then  as  it  is  written,  "  Thy  dead  men  (addressing  the 
graves  of  time)  shall  live,  together  with  my  dead  body 
shall  they  arise— awake  and  sing  ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust, 
and  the  earth  shall  cast  out  her  dead."  ''He  will 
swallow  up  death  in  victory."  (Isaiah.)  ''While  you 
do  not  know  life,"  said  Confucius,  "how  can  you  know 
death?" 

Doubts  as  to  the  continued  existences  of  the  departed 
were  manifested  by  many  men  of  China,  before  the  era 
of  Confucius.  "  But  we  see  that  he  did  beheve  in  a 
future  existence,  and,  with  Job,  that  the  transition  into 
it  was  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  though  not  so  clearly 
as  he  did  after  the  destined  redeemer's  revelation  to  him 
upon  the  subject."     ("  Encyclopedia-Britannica.") 

Buddhist  Creed  not  Atheistic. 

There  are  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  millions  of  the 
human  family  (about  one-fourth  of  mankind)  whose 
religion  is  Buddhism. 

Buddha  died  B.C.  543.  In  Ceylon  there  is  a  foot- 
mark, on  a  rock  called  Adam's  Peak,  which  has  been  the 
object  of  pilgrimage  for  ages,  which  Buddhists  ascribe  to 
Buddha,  and  Mohammedans  to  Adam.  vSuch  beliefs  of 
the  human  family  are  strong  corroborations  of  the  bib- 
lical account  of  its  origin. 


ANCIENT   PHILOSOPHERS   THEISTS.  37 

In  Thibet,  the  Buddhist  creed  is  thus  stated  by  Cosma 
de  Koros :  ''To  take  refuge  only  with  Buddha.  To 
form  in  the  mind  the  resokition  to  aim  at  the  highest  de- 
gree of  perfection,  and  so  to  be  united  with  the  Supreme 
IntelHgence.  (God  said  to  Abraham,  ''Walk  before  me 
and  be  thou  perfect.")  To  humble  one's  self  before 
Buddha,  and  adore  him.  (It  is  evident  that  the 
Buddhist  viewed  Buddha  only  as  the  symbol  of  the  Su- 
preme Intelligence,  and  the  best  human  model  for  them 
to  follow  in  aiming  at  the  highest  perfection — that  of  the 
Supreme  Being,  as  they  called  him.  If,  therefore,  from 
the  lesser  light  of  tradition  and  the  revelations  of  nature, 
manifesting  the  goodness  of  God  lead  these  people  to  re- 
pentance— to  humble  themselves  before  him  whom  Buddha 
adored — then  they  obey  and  please  the  Supreme  Being,  to 
whom  Buddha  pointed  them,  both  by  precept  and  exam- 
ple, and,  with  Abraham,  share  the  approval  of  the  great 
Supreme.)  To  make  offering  of  things  pleasing  to  the 
senses,  the  sixth  being  the  moral  sense.  (Like  Abel, 
who  offered  the  first  mature  lamb  of  his  flock,  and  of  the 
fat  thereof,  and  that  every  spring.  Because  it  was  pleasing 
to  his  appetite,  it  had  sacrificial  value,  and  was  pleasing  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord  his  maker,  and  which  must  have 
been  so  while  beholding  the  sacrificial  offerings  of  the 
adoring  Buddhist,  in  the  estimation  of  him  who  respects 
not  persons. 

"  To  glorify  Buddha  by  music  and  hymns,  in  praise  of 
his  person,  doctrine,  and  love  of  mankind,  his  perfection 
of  attributes,  and  for  his  acts  for  the  benefit  of  animated 
human  beings.  To  confess  one's  sins  with  a  contrite 
heart,  to  ask  forgiveness  of  them,  and  to  repent  truly, 
with  a  resolution  not  to  commit  such  afterward.  To 
rejoice  in  the  moral  merit  of  perfection  of  animated  be- 
ings, and  to  wish  that  they  may  obtain  beatitude.  To 
pray  and  exhort  existing  holy  men  to  turn  the  wheel  of 
rehgion,  that  the  world  may  long  benefit  by  their  teach- 
ing." 

This  creed  is  signed,  "  Prinsep's  Thibet — Tartary  and 
Mongoha. ' ' 


38  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 


Degeneracy  of  Buddhism  by   Modern  Skeptics. 

The  Buddhist  priests  in  the  present  century  are  ac- 
tively diffusing  a  knowledge  of  their  creed,  as  they  in- 
terpret and  expound  it.  They  have  printing  presses 
from  which  tracts  and  pamphlets  issue  in  great  numbers. 
Some  of  these  contain  defiant  and  blasphemous  expres- 
sions, like  those  of  Ingersoll,  against  the  name  of  Jeho- 
vah. In  consequence  of  these  bad  teachers  many  Bud- 
dhists have  become  atheistic  materialists.  But  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  doctrines  of  Buddha  contained  in  the  above 
creed  are  not  only  free  from  atheism,  but  the  nearest 
in  experimental  and  practical  religion  to  that  revealed 
in  the  Bible,  of  any  other  outside  of  it,  including  many 
of  those  of  Christendom. 

Nothing  is  more  obvious  from  these  records  of  antiquity 
than  that  all  those  nations  and  generations  believed  in 
one  personal,  living  God  as  the  Creator  of  the  world,  and 
acknowledged  their  obligation  to  love,  serve,  and  obey 
Him.  Indeed,  it  seems  incomprehensible  that  however 
rude  in  form  or  grand  in  construction  were  the  gods  the 
worshippers  made  (and  the  very  fact  of  making  proves  the 
superiority  of  the  maker)  they  were  regarded  in  no  other 
light  than  as  symbolic  representations,  or  memory  — 
prompters  of  the  only  true  and  living  God,  and  this  wor- 
ship was  as  sure  to  elevate  the  worshipper  as  that,  by  the 
law  of  assimilation,  man  becomes  like  those  with  w^hom 
he  communes,  associates,  and  studies.  According  to  this 
principle  of  moral  philosophy  an  atheist,  repudiating  the 
existence  of  any  being  higher  or  greater  than  himself,  is 
not  only  unable  to  make  the  least  shade  of  moral  ad- 
vancement, but  must  gravitate  toward  the  morose,  un- 
lovely, and  base.  Hence  Ingersoll's  iconoclastic  warfare 
upon  all  the  gods,  if  at  all  successful,  only  serves  to  de- 
stroy the  restraint  there  is  upon  the  votary  of  evil  in- 
clination, and  render  human  society  anarchical  and  intol- 
erable ;  and  were  these  confederates  equal  to  the  task  of 
scoffing  away  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  God,  and  the 
authority  of  the  Bible,  the  whole  world  would  have  a  short 


ANCIENT   PHILOSOPHERS   THEISTS.  39 

reign  of  terror,  followed  by  the  extinction  of  everything 
which  makes  human  life  tolerable. 


Freethinker  ism    Degeneracy,    not  Progress. 

The  fact  that  all  these  great  men  of  antiquity  were  re- 
formers, proves  that,  in  their  days,  human  society  had  de- 
generated. They  could  point  their  people  to  remote 
golden  ages  and  to  ancestors  of  perfect  virtue,  and  their 
standard  of  virtue  embraced  the  behef  in  God,  and  heart- 
devotion  to  His  righteous  laws,  loving  Him,  and  their 
brothers  also.  This  shows  that  the  human  family  had 
degenerated  from  the  earliest  times,  and  contradicts  the 
lying  oracles  of  the  skeptical,  so-called  progressionists, 
that  there  has  been  continual  progress  and  development 
from  a  rude  and  savage  beginning.  These  facts  of  pro- 
fane history  corresponds  with  the  biblical  history  of  the 
nations  and  generations  of  mankind,  and  is  corroborated 
by  the  common  observation  of  moral  science. 

Light  of  Nature  and  Providence  Lead  Men  to  Love  the 
Creator. 

He  who  reads  the  Scripture  revelations  of  the  will  and 
purpose  of  God,  and  does  not  understand  the  funda- 
mental principle  to  be  met  by  any  man,  in  any  age  or 
country,  who  is  induced  to  love  and  adore  his  Creator, 
thus  reciprocating  the  prior  love  of  God  for  him,  reads 
them  to  very  little  purpose.  Whatever  manifestation  God 
has  made,  even  the  involvement  in  human  form  and  the 
sacrificial  offering  of  Himself,  was  to  induce  His  creat- 
ures to  love  Him  with  all  their  heart ;  and  if  they  do  this, 
w^hether  induced  to  it  by  the  light  of  nature,  the  good- 
ness, wisdom,  and  power  in  giving  them  being,  and  the 
bountiful  provisions  surrounding  them  in  nature  to  meet 
their  necessities  and  enhance  their  happiness,  it  is  equal- 
ly effective,  and  equally  meets  the  approving  smile  and 
benediction  of  his  Lord  and  Creator ;  and  in  the  end, 
whether  called  Buddhists,  Confucians,  or  Christians,  shall 
share  the  resurrection  to  eternal  life  and  an  inheritance 


40  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

in  the  kingdom  of  the  new  earth  '' wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness,"  which  they  had  tried  to  make  their  own 
country  in  the  old  world. 

It  is  in  accordance  with  another  principle  of  the  written 
revelation,  that  those  who  are  led  to  love  God  (and  if 
they  love  Him  they  obey  Him),  under  the  less  light,  are 
more  prominently  approved  by  Him,  and  will  be  so  dis- 
tinguished in  the  promised  rewards  in  the  judgment  at 
the  end  of  the  world.  As  an  example,  said  the  great 
teacher  :  "  The  men  of  Nineveh  (and  they  were  heathen 
Gentiles)  shall  rise  up  in  the  judgment,  with  this  genera- 
tion, and  condemn  it :  for  they  repented  at  the  preach- 
ing of  Jonah  ;  and  behold,  a  greater  than  Jonah  is  here." 
(Luke  II  :  32.)  The  only  question  is,  do  they  love  God 
with  all  their  heart,  and,  as  a  sequence,  their  neighbor  as 
themselves  ? 


T/ie  O'eator  Cannot  be  Indifferent  to  the   Character  of 
Man. 

It  is  simply  preposterous  to  hold  the  Scriptures  respon- 
sible for  any  sentiment  or  practice  which  is  not  taught 
and  enforced  by  its  entire  instruction  upon  the  subject, 
and  for  wresting  its  records,  in  order  to  make  them 
appear  to  approve  wicked  acts  simply  because  they  are 
written  in  them  ;  and  that  this  is  the  work  of  Ingersoll, 
we  shall  show  by  the  reports  of  his  public  discourses  after 
having  been  submitted  to  his  own  revision,  which  will  also 
show  his  ignorance  of  Scripture,  not  a  doctrine  of  which 
is  he  capable  of  expounding.  That  he  unjustly  passes  for 
a  man  of  science  we  shall  also  show  by  what  he  accepts 
as  science,  and  with  his  accustomed  arrogance  and  puffed 
up  conceit  supposes  the  book  of  Genesis,  as  to  the  origin 
of  the  world  and  its  inhabitants,  to  be  the  "Mistakes  of 
Moses. ' ' 

The  scoffer  says  :  "  God  demands  man's  obedience  and 
love,  to  yield  which  degrades  his  manhood."  This  is 
without  regard  as  to  whether  God  is  his  maker  or  not. 
Did  he  know  of  a  single  argument  of  logical  force  to 
disprove  this  relation  he  would  not  appear  so  ridiculous. 


v 

ANCIENT   PHILOSOPHERS   THEISTS'.  41 

Had  he  charged  that  to  yield  this  love  and  obedience, 
would  have  humbled  his  arrogant  and  indefencible  pride 
and  put  restraint  upon  his  self-will,  which,  were  it  equal 
to  its  animus,  would  not  only  asperse  and  slander  the 
character  of  God  his  maker,  but  rather  than  submit  he 
would  hurl  him  from  his  throne,  and  in  his  proud  tyranny 
trample  upon  the  Omnipotent,  who,  he  complains,  "  is 
watching  him" — and  become  so  puffed  at  his  victory 
that  he  would  demand  the  obedience  of  every  man,  every 
angel,  and  even  that  of  God  himself !  In  the  very  nature 
and  constitution  of  things,  such  demands  must  be  imposed 
upon  man  by  his  Maker. 

As  man  is  endowed  with  the  power  of  volition — it  ren- 
ders him  capable  of  obedience  ;  and  of  philosophical  neces- 
sity this  carries  with  it  the  power  of  disobedience.  The 
conception  is  impossible  and  absurd  that  God  should  have 
made  beings  capable  of  loving  and  obeying  him,  and  yet 
not  require  their  love  and  obedience,  and  much  less  that 
he  had  no  right  to  demand  either.  That  God  is  the 
Creator,  and  therefore  the  owner  of  man's  being,  settles 
this  question. 

To  the  question,  is  it  best  for  man  to  thus  love  and 
obey  ? — the  wisdom  capable  of  such  a  work,  and  which 
belongs  to  him  who  makes  the  demand  gives  an  affirma- 
tive answer ;  even  though  to  yield  is  contrary  to  man's 
will  and  propensities.  His  ignorance  of  what  is  best  for 
him  in  the  end  precludes  any  justification  for  refusing  to 
yield.  Has  the  father  a  right  to  command  the  love  and 
obedience  of  his  children,  when  he,  too,  is  only  their  tem- 
porary superior? — and  is  it  for  them  to  ask  the  question 
whether  it  is  right  and  proper  to  yield  to  the  claim  of 
God  ?  But  the  claim  of  God  is  that  of  absolute  owner- 
ship, which  lasts  as  long  as  the  man  has  reason  and  con- 
scious being. 

Was  there  ever  a  rational  human  father  who  took  no 
interest  in  his  children,  and  was  totally  indifferent  to  their 
conduct  toward  himself  and  others  ?  And  can  the  father 
of  mankind  be  thus  indifferent  ?  Was  there  ever  a  sane 
human  parent  against  the  waywardness  and  disobedience 
of  his  children,  who  issued  no  law  or  penalty  ? — and  can 


42  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

the  supreme  owner  of  man  impose  no  law,  or  penalty  for 
the  regulation  of  the  conduct  of  his  children  ?  The  very- 
question  shocks  every  sensibility  of  reflecting  minds,  and 
puts  the  audacious  questioner  out  of  court.  Furthermore, 
was  there  ever  a  human  father  who  did  not  desire  his 
children  should  please  him  ? — and  how  infinitely  more  pre- 
posterous the  supposition  that  God  should  have  created 
the  family  of  man,  and  not  desire  they  should  have 
such  characters,  and  perform  such  acts  as  would  be  pleas- 
ing to  him  ;  and,  we  may  add,  how  could  his  children 
know  what  kind  of  character  or  deeds  would  be  pleasing 
or  displeasing  unless  the  father  should  have  made  a  rev- 
elation containing  the  instruction?  And  these  are  the 
Scriptures  of  truth. 

The  fact  that  the  Creator  provides  laws  and  penalties  in 
the  smallest  details  for  the  government  of  all  other  ani- 
mate and  inanimate  things  and  creatures,  precludes  the 
possibility  of  indifference  to  such  provisions  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  only  moral  being  upon  our  globe  who  is 
capable  of  reasoning  up  to  his  existence,  or  of  forming  the 
least  appreciation  of  his  character.  As,  therefore,  man 
must  be  a  subject  of  moral  law  and  government,  his 
Maker  must  offer  him  reward  to  induce  obedience,  and 
threaten  punishment  to  restrain  him  from  disobedience,  in 
mercy  giving  him  the  double  motive  of  hope  and  fear. 
Had  either  of  these  been  omitted,  the  finally  disobedient 
might  charge  his  Maker  with  not  having  made  the  induce- 
ment to  yield  obedience  as  effective  as  possible  ! 

IngersolV s  Objection  to  Sacrifices  Answered. 

The  arch -scoffer  says  :  ''  Most  of  the  gods  were  pleased 
with  sacrifice,  and  the  smell  of  innocent  blood  has  ever 
been  considered  a  divine  perfume."  Nothing  is  more 
universally  acknowledged  and  practiced  in  the  intercourse 
of  mankind  than  the  principle  of  sacrifice,  and  which  is 
the  exact  oi)posite  of  selfishness.  The  degree  of  love  and 
respect  one  being  has  for  another  is  more  surely  measured 
and  made  manifest  by  the  amount  of  sacrifice  made  and 
suffered  for  another  than  by  any  other  test.     The  sacri- 


ANCIENT   PHILOSOPHERS   THEISTS.  43 

• 
fices  may  consist  in  money,  goods,  reputation,  or  life. 
The  sacrifice  of  life  implies  the  shedding  of  life-blood,  as 
that  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  to  show  to  mankind  the  bound- 
less love  of  God  for  man,  by  which  in  turn  He  might  win 
their  love  for  Himself;  and  this  is  the  whole  doctrine  of 
atonement,  or  reconciliation,  as  taught  in  the  Bible. 

The  shedding  of  tlie  blood  of  the  lambs  ordered  at  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  revealed  this  great  truth.  The 
animal  sacrifices  of  all  heathen  religions  are  corruptions 
of  this  institution.  All  these  sacrifices  have  been  laid 
upon  the  altar  of  devotion  for  friends.  It  is  admitted 
that  any  of  these  sacrifices,  except  that  of  life,  may  be 
prompted  by  the  hope  of  receiving  from  the  same  friends 
increased  favors.  But  he  who  perils  and  loses  his  life  for 
his  friend  shows  the  strongest  possible  attachment  and 
degree  of  love  for  that  friend ;  and  performs  an  act  as 
unselfish  as  it  is  possible  for  an  act  to  be  !  Men  may 
make  professions  and  protestations  of  love  and  friendship, 
but  their  sincerity  can  only  be  evinced  by  the  vaiue  of  the 
sacrifices  the  professed  friends  will  make  when  opportu- 
nity offers,  and  when  those  friends  need  help. 

Unselfish  humanity  constitutes  the  bond  and  bases  of 
the  highest  human  society.  The  general  acknowledgment 
of  the  efficacy  of  sacrificial  offerings  from  the  most  an- 
cient times  prove  they  originated  in  the  mind  of  the  great 
Creator  himself,  and  founder  of  human  society,  and  the 
whole  sociological  philosophy  is  comprehended  and  ex- 
pressed in  the  golden  rule  of  its  author:  ''All  things 
whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them  :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. ' ' 
That  is,  this  was,  and  is  the  doctrine  taught  in  the  laws  of 
Moses  and  by  the  prophets,  and  from  which  Christ  de- 
duced it  in  this  form. 

This  reciprocity  of  kind  and  pleasing  acts  between  all 
intelligent  beings  is  tliat  of  sacrifice,  and  is  that  at  which 
IngersoU  scoffs. 

In  all  the  relations  of  society  it  is  a  recognized  princi- 
ple that  the  first  obligation  is  due  to  proprietors  ;  and 
what  kind  of  reasoning  is  that  which  denies  its  extension 
to  the  great  proprietor  and  maker  of  the  man  ?  This  being 


44  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

inadmissible,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  first 
and  absorbing  obligation  is  to  love,  honor,  and  worship 
the  Creator  !  Indeed,  loving  and  honoring  Him  is  the 
highest  worship  He  demands.  The  evidence  to  the  indi- 
vidual himself,  as  well  as  to  others,  whether  he  is  such  a 
worshipper,  possessing  ^nd  manifesting  this  large,  unself- 
ish spirit  toward  God  and  man,  is  answered  by  the  sacri- 
fices he  will  make  as  opportunity  presents  itself.  "  Pure 
and  undefiled  religion  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this, 
To  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and 
keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  world."  (James  i  :  27.) 
This  requires  a  life  of  self-denial  and  crucifixion  :  "  Who- 
soever hath  this  world's  goods  and  seeth  his  brother  hath 
need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him, 
how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him  ?  "  (i  John  3  :  17.) 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  are  the  two  great  command- 
ments covering  all  the  reciprocal  duties' of  man  with  man, 
and  man  with  his  Maker. 

God  Taught   Cain  and  Abel  the  Nature  and  Object  of 
Sac7'ifice. 

To  love  God  and  his  neighbor,  as  here  enjoined,  and  to 
render  the  sacrificial  duties  growing  out  of  such  a  state  of 
heart  to  both  is  the  height,  length,  breadth,  and  depth  of 
revealed  religion  and  worship,  alike  in  all  ages  of  the 
world ;  and  which  justice  and  mercy  demanded  should 
have  been  revealed  as  fully  and  clearly  to  the  first  gener- 
ation of  men  born  into  the  world  as  to  any  subsequent 
one.  It  seems  that  there  can  be  but  two  reasons  assigned 
why  this  was  not  done,  if  it  was  not.  First,  the  Crea- 
tor was  unable  to  conceive  such  a  system  at  that  time  ;  or, 
secondly,  he  was  indifferent  to  the  destiny  of  the  men  first 
brought  into  the  world,  both  of  which  are  too  absurd 
to  merit  reply.  The  conclusion,  therefore,  is  that  the 
Maker  must  have  planned  and  preached  the  gospel  of 
such  a  salvation  to  the  first  generation  of  men,  and  before 
any  death  occurred  :  and  so  we  find  that  sacrificial  of- 
ferings, which  typically  conveyed  this  information,  was 


ANCIENT   PHILOSOPHERS  THEISTS.  45 

revealed   to   the  first  generation   of  men   born  into  the 
world  ;   and  this  originated  the  Christian  church. 

Nor  can  it  be  said  that  the  conditions  of  such  salvation 
might  not  have  been  the  same,  or  as  high  as  in  after  ages. 
This  is  obvious  from  two  facts  of  these  conditions,  namely, 
that  the  hearts  of  these  men  must  be  brought  to  love 
their  Creator,  and  believe  His  words,  and  that  nothing 
but  this  can  fit  them  to  obey  and  please  Him. 

God  Preached  the  First  Gospel-Sermon  to  Cain  and  Abel. 

That  we  may  understand  the  lessons  and  their  biblical 
signification,  we  read  :  ''In  process  of  time  it  came  to 
pass  that  Cain  brought  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground  an 
offering  unto  the  Lord.  And  Abel,  he  also  brought  of 
the  firstlings  of  his  flock  and  of  the  fat  thereof,  and  the 
Lord  had  respect  unto  Abel  and  to  his  offering  ;  but  unto 
Cain  and  to  his  offering  he  had  not  respect.  And  Cain  was 
very  wroth  and  his  countenance  fell.  And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Cain,  Why  art  thou  wroth  ?  and  why  is  thy  coun- 
tenance fallen  ?  If  thou  doest  well  shalt  thou  not  be 
accepted  ?  and  if  thou  doest  not  well,  sin  lieth  at  the 
door.  (A  lamb  for  a  sin  offering  lay  at  his  door,  so  that 
he  was  not  required  to  offer  as  sacrifice  that  which  he  did 
not  possess ;  nor  does  he  make  the  excuse  that  he  had  no 
flock  or  firstUng),  and  unto  thee  shall  be  his  (Abel's) 
desire,  and  thou  shalt  reign  over  him." 

(As  the  oldest  son,  it  was  Cain's  birthright  to  be  the 
patriarch  of  the  first  generation  of  men,  which  made  him 
prophet,  priest,  and  civil  ruler  as  long  as  he  lived.)  "  And 
it  came  to  pass  when  they  were  in  the  field  that  Cain  rose 
up  against  Abel  his  brother,  and  slew  him.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Cain,  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ?  and 
he  said  I  know  not ;  am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?  And 
He  said.  What  hast  thou  done  ?  the  voice  of  thy  brother's 
blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the  ground,  and  now  thou  art 
cursed  from  the  earth,  which  hath  opened  her  mouth  to 
receive  thy  brother's  blood  from  thy  hand  ;  when  thou 
tillest  the  ground  it  shall  not  henceforth  yield  unto  thee 
her  strength  ;  a  fugitive  and  a  vagabond  shalt  thou  be  in 


46  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

the  earth.  And  Cain  said  unto  the  Lord,  My  punish- 
ment is  greater  than  I  can  bear.  Behold  !  thou  hast 
driven  me  out  this  day  from  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  and 
from  thy  face  shall  I  be  hid ;  and  it  shall  come  to  pass 
that  every  one  that  findeth  Cain  shall  slay  him.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  him,  Therefore  whosoever  slayeth  Cain, 
vengeance  shall  be  taken  of  him  sevenfold."     (Gen.  4  : 

In  this  record  we  have  the  history  of  the  foundation  of 
the  Christian  church,  and  that  of  revealed  religion  ;  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  the  gospel  of  Christ's  death  and 
resurrection,  and  which  was  here  preached  by  God  him- 
self to  the  first  two  men  born  into  the  world.  They  were 
required  to  sacrifice  that  which  they  esteemed  valuable, 
thereby  showing  their  loyalty  and  obedience.  Secondly, 
that  the  slaying  of  the  lamb  was  the  typical  representation 
of  the  future  slaying  of  Christ,  ''  The  Lamb  of  God  !  " 
Hence  we  read  of  him  as  the  ^'  Lamb  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  (Rev.  13  :  8.)  And  at  that 
time  also  of  the  Lamb's  book  of  life  being  opened  and 
names  written  therein.  Abel  was  the  first  member  of  the 
church,  and  the  first  martyr  for  his  faith  in  Christ,  whose 
resurrection  w^as  taught  by  the  offering  of  the  first-fruits 
of  the  harvest. 


The  Humility  of  Christ  Submitting  to  be  Slain,  Humbles 
Men, 

Cain  and  Abel,  as  well  as  all  men,  were  proud.  In 
order  to  humble  them  to  that  state  of  submissiveness  to 
God's  righteous  government,  necessary  to  become  its 
loyal  subjects,  he  informed  them  that  although  he  was 
their  Maker,  he  intended  to  become  embodied  in  a  human 
form  like  themselves ;  and  in  this  act  to  be  born  of  a 
woman — have  a  human  life  ;  and  thus  becoming  subject 
to  death  ;  and  that  proud,  self-willed  men  would  slay 
him,  by  spilling  his  blood. 

And  now,  Cain  and  Abel,  I  want  you  to  understand 
that  when  you  slay  this  lamb,  so  will  I  consent  to  be 
slain  to  show  my  love  for  you  in  order  to  win  you  to 


ANCIENT  PHILOSOPHERS  THEISTS.  47 

love  me ;  that  the  virtue  in  the  blood  is  simply  because 
its  loss  is  death.  I  will  therefore  have  it  written,  ''  With- 
out the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sins." 
''  Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of  God,  because  he  laid 
down  his  life  for  us :  and  we  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives 
for  the  brethren."      (i  John  3  :  16.) 

*'  Other  sheep  have  I  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ;  them 
also  I  must  bring.  I  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep."  "  1 
have  power  to  lay  it  down  and  take  it  again  !  "  Here 
was  Christ  a  lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

But,  Cain  and  Abel,  you  must  also  understand  that  I 
am  not  going  to  remain  dead ;  and  as  it  is  in  the  human 
form  I  am  to  be  your  Saviour,  and  the  salvation  includes 
your  resurrection  from  the  dead,  therefore  the  offering  of 
a  sheaf  of  the  first  ripe  fruits,  and  that  repeated  every 
spring,  signifies  my  resurrection,  which  is  to  take  place 
on  the  third  day  from  my  crucifixion. 

Cain  is  willing  to  offer  the  first-fruits  and  have  part  in 
the  resurrection,  so  that  he,  too,  shall  not  remain  perished 
in  death ;  but  he  is  too  proud  and  self-willed  to  be 
humbled  even  by  my  death  for  him,  and  the  sacrifice  will 
fail  to  win  him  to  love  and  please  me  ! 

The  following  is  one  of  the  prophetic  records  of  the 
great  sacrificial  transaction  :  '^  He  was  oppressed  and 
afflicted,  yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth.  He  was  brought 
as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her 
shearer  is  dumb,  so  he  openeth  not  his  mouth.  He  was 
taken  from  prison  and  from  judgment ;  and  who  shall 
declare  his  generation  ?  for  he  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land 
of  the  living  ;  for  the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he 
^ricken.  And  he  made  his  grave  with  the  wicked  and 
the  rich  in  his  death."      (Isa.  53.) 

These  types  were  afterward  incorporated  in  the  laws  of 
Moses,  enlarging  the  instruction  to  the  Hebrew  nation 
and  according  to  the  design,  through  it  to  thus  instruct 
the  world.  That  in  relation  to  the  first-fruits  is  recorded 
thus  :  "  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say, 
when  ye  come  into  the  land  I  give  unto  you,  and  shall 
reap  the  harvest  thereof,  then  ye  shall  bring  a  sheaf  of 
the  first  ripe  fruits,  and  the  priest  shall  wave  the  sheaf 


48  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

before  the  Lord,  to  be  accepted  for  you  ;  on  the  morrow 
after  the  Sabbath  the  priest  shall  wave  it."  (Lev. 
23:  10,  II.) 

The  crucifixion  was  on  Friday,  the  day  before  the 
Sabbath,  which  was  also  the  day  the  Passover  Lamb  was 
slain.  Christ  lay  in  the  grave  the  remainder  of  that  day, 
and  rose  the  next — the  third  day — the  morrow  after  the 
Sabbath :  fulfilling  the  prophetic  type  both  as  to  the 
nature  and  time  of  the  oblation. 

After  his  resurrection,  Christ  discoursed  to  some  of  his 
disciples,  thus  :  "  These  are  the  words  which  I  spake 
unto  you,  while  I  was  yet  with  you,  that  all  things  must 
be  fulfilled,  which  were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
in  the  prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms,  concerning  me. 
Then  opened  he  their  understanding  [by  thus  expound- 
ing them]  that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures. 
And  he  said  unto  them  :  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it 
behoved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  the  third  day." 
(Luke  24:  44-46.)  Therefore,  in  the  lamb  Abel  slew 
he  saw  in  typic  perspective  Christ  the  Lamb  of  God  being 
slain,  and  in  the  wave-sheaf  the  resurrection  of  Christ — 
"  The  first-fruits  of  the  resurrection  and  pledge  of  that  of 
all  his  people  at  the  last  day." 

That  it  was  to  this  event  Abel's  faith  looked  for  his 
salvation,  and  as  the  model  for  that  of  Christians,  we 
have  the  following  testimony  of  God  himself:  *' By 
faith  Abel  offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent  sacrifice 
than  Cain,  by  which  he  obtained  witness  that  he  was 
righteous,  God  testifying  of  his  gifts  [both  the  lamb  and 
the  first  -  fruits]  :  and  that  he  pleased  God  and  being 
dead  he  yet  speaketh."     (Heb.  11.) 

T/ie  Principle  of  Sacrifice  Humbles  those  it  Favors. 

The  philosophy  of  sacrifice,  without  regard  to  its  typi- 
cal teaching,  lies  in  its  power  to  rebuke  and  humble  the 
proud — implying  ability  on  the  part  of  the  benefactor, 
which  they  themselves  do  not  possess.  Contact  with 
superiority  always  has  the  tendency  to  produce  humilia- 
tion.    A  man  may  think  himself  wise  ;   but  beholding  a 


ANCIENT   PHILOSOPHERS   THEISTS.  49 

wiser,  he  is  humbled.  A  man  may  think  himself  the 
most  honorable ;  but  contact  with  a  more  honorable, 
humiliates  him.  A  man  supposes  himself  the  highest 
model  of  virtue ;  but  seeing  a  more  excellent  example,  he 
is  humbled.  Christ  so  manifested  his  mercy  in  forgiv- 
ing offences,  that  his  disciples  wanted  to  know  if  there 
was  any  limit,  and  they  said  to  him,  "  If  my  brother  sin 
against  me  seven  times,  shall  I  forgive  him  ?  "  and  he  said, 
''Not  only  seven  times,  but  until  seventy  times  seven, 
if  he  say  I  repent,  forgive  him."  This  answer  humbled 
them,  and  they  said,  "  Lord  increase  our  faith  !  "  The 
limit  was  not  in  the  number  or  turpitude  of  a  man's 
sins ;  but  in  his  persistent  impenitency  like  Cain,  who 
did  not  say,  ''  I  repent." 

The  spirit  and  wisdom  of  Christ's  words  and  example 
humbled  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact ;  and  w^hile 
some  became  his  humble  disciples,  others,  like  Cain  and 
Ingersoll,  were  and  are  maddened  at  the  rebuke  of  their 
pride,  and  give  it  vent  in  the  slander  of  Christ  and  the 
Bible  ! 

We  need  scarcely  say  that  this  great  principle  of  re- 
ligious sacrifice,  established  by  the  great  Creator  at  the 
foundation  of  the  world",  has  been  corrupted  to  the  use  of 
all  the  idolatries  of  the  world — and  to  confound  it  with 
these,  as  Ingersoll  and  the  freethinkers  do,' exemplifies  the 
most  profound  ignorance  of  the  whole  subject,  as  well  as 
their  gross  perversion  of  the  associated  philosophy  of 
historic  facts  and  phenomenal  teaching  in  nature.  Hence 
the  slanderous  remark,  flowing — ''  Blood  has  ever  been 
a  sweet  perfume  to  the  gods  !  ' ' 

IngersolV  s  Wanton  and  Ignorant  Attack  upon  Priesthood. 

The  arch-scoffer  next  attacks  the  priests  of  religion, 
and  hurls  his  weapons  against  the  true  and  false,  those  of 
Christ  and  antichrist,  the  persecuted  and  the  persecutors, 
indiscriminately. 

''All  these  gods  have  insisted  upon  having  a  vast 
number  of  priests,  and  the  priests  have  always  insisted 
upon  being  supported  by  the  people  " 


50  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

God  established  the  patriarchal  system  of  religious 
and  civil  government  in  the  first  generation  of  mankind. 
This  made  the  oldest  son  of  a  certain  genealogical  line 
the  prophet,  priest,  and  civil  ruler  of  the  generation. 
This  was  the  order  of  worship  and  government  until  the 
year  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-four  of  the 
world ;  at  which  time  it  was  superseded  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Hebrew  nation  in  the  land  of  Palestine. 
In  the  division  of  the  land  among  the  twelve  tribes,  that 
of  Levi  had  no  inheritance  given  it ;  for  the  reason  that 
the  males  of  that  tribe  were  to  be  the  priests  and  religi- 
ous teachers  of  the  nation.  Having  no  land  from  which 
to  obtain  a  livehhood,  and  no  time  to  work  it  if  they 
had — the  work  of  the  ministry  demanding  their  whole 
attention,  other  provision  for  their  maintenance  was  a 
necessity,  and  which  was  enacted  as  follows  :  "  Only 
unto  the  tribe  of  Levi  he  gave  none  inheritance ;  the 
sacrifices  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  made  by  fire  is  their 
inheritance,  as  he  said  unto  them,  Unto  the  tribe  of 
Levi  Moses  gave  not  any  inheritance."       (Joshua   13  ; 

14,  33-) 

Here  we  have  the  system.  G^d  owned  the  land  be- 
cause he  made  it,  and,  being  the  proprietor,  his  right 
cannot  be  disputed  to  demand  not  only  recognition,  but 
supreme  honor  by  his  creatures,  who  are  tenants  at  will 
upon  his  domain. 

In  order  to  test  their  loyalty  to  him  and  make  it  mani- 
fest to  others,  he  commands  them  to  make  sacrifices,  and 
which  can  only  be  of  such  things  as  they  esteemed  valu- 
able. To  offer  the  sacrifices  there  must  be  priests  ;  and 
as  the  work  must  occupy  their  time,  renders  their  sup- 
port by  the  people  a  necessity.  One  of  these  little  ten- 
ants by  the  name  of  Ingersoll  rebels  against  this  most 
lawful  and  righteous  claim,  and  obtains  large  pay  for 
attempting  to  seduce  others  to  join  in  the  conspiracy  to 
defy  and  tyrannize  over  his  Maker ;  calling  this  inde- 
pendency— dignity — standing  upright  like  a  man  ! 

Here,  early  in  the  world,  God  established  and  revealed 
the  great  system  of  religious  worship  with  its  sacrifices 
and  priesthood  absolutely  essential  not  only  to  the  de- 


ANCIENT  PHILOSOPHERS  THEISTS.  5 1 

velopment  of  the  best  citizens  of  human  government,  but 
to  citizenship  in  an  endless  world ;  for  this  whole  ques- 
tion is  simply  one  of  permanent,  universal,  and  righteous 
government.  To  confound  this  intelligent  and  philosoph- 
ical worship  of  the  hving  God  with  its  corruptions  by  the 
priests  of  idolatry,  is  the  blundering  error  repeated  by 
Ingersoll.  But  even  the  corrupt  forms  of  idolatrous 
sacrifices,  priests,  and  their  worship,  are  vastly  superior 
and  beneficial  to  mankind  than  atheism,  which  ofi'ers  in 
the  place  of  future  hope,  nothing  but  blank  annihilation. 
He  must  have  read  history  to  little  purpose  who  has 
not  discovered  the  fact  that  it  was  the  religious  element, 
though  idolatrous,  which  distinguished  the  civilized  from 
the  barbarous  and  semi-barbarous  nations  of  the  ages. 
Nineveh,  Babylon,  Persia,  Greece,  Egypt,  and  Rome, 
each  of  whom  had  its  gods  and  costly  priesthood,  and  all 
of  those  gods  symbolized  a  being  superior  to  man  ;  there- 
by throwing  a  restraining  influence  around  the  bad  pas- 
sions of  their  devotees,  the  result  of  which  was  civilization. 
Even  Troy,  for  a  long  time  mistress  of  all  Asia,  owed  her 
advancement  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  as  well  as  her  su- 
perior system  of  government,  to  her  religious  standard. 
When  Troy  was  taken  by  the  Greeks,  and  Priam,  her 
king,  was  pursued  and  overtaken  by  Pyrrhus,  the  son  of 
Achilles,  who  ran  a  sword  through  the  body  of  the  king's 
son  in  the  presence  of  his  father,  Priam  addressed  him  in 
these  words : 

"  The  gods,"  said  he,  "  requite  thy  brutal  rage — 
As  sure  they  will,  as  sure  they  must — 
If  there  be  gods  in  heaven,  and  gods  be  just !  " 

The  reverence  in  which  Socrates,  the  reputable  father 
of  moral  philosophy,  held  the  gods,  may  be  seen  by  his 
last  words.  After  he  drank  the  hemlock,  the  instrument 
of  his  execution,  he  gently  reproved  his  friends  for  weep- 
ing in  these  words  :  "I  have  always  heard  say  that  we 
ought  to  die  in  peace,  and  blessing  the  gods.  Crito," 
said  he,  and  these  were  his  last  words,  *' we  owe  a  fowl 
to  Esculapius  ;  discharge  that  vow  for  me,  and  pray  do 
not  forget  it." 


52  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

But  it  is  useless  to  select  single  cases,  for  there  never 
was  an  atheistic  philosopher  which  requires  a  man  to  be 
so  devoid  of  reason  that  he  can  believe  an  effect  can  be 
produced  without  a  cause,  which  also  exemplifies  a  blind 
credulity,  more  marvellous  than  a  belief  in  all  the  miracles 
the  Bible  claims  for  its  author.  Strange  infatuation  that 
such  minds  should  claim  to  be  guided  by  reason,  truth- 
seekers,  freethinkers,  etc.  To  assume  any  such  epithet,  to 
say  the  least,  is  a  gross  misnomer.  They  may  appropri- 
ately be  designated  not  as — ''fear-thinkers;  but  free- 
talkers!  " 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    GLOBULAR    FORM    OF    THE    EARTH   TAUGHT    IN    THE 
BIBLE. 

Another  of  the  scoffer's  repeated  objections  to  expose 
the  ignorance  of  the  gods,  inckiding  the  hving  God,  is 
this  :  '^  These  gods  did  not  know  the  shape  of  the  worlds 
they  created,  but  supposed  them  to  be  perfectly  fiat." 
In  reply  we  say  that  the  God  of  the  Scriptures  was  not 
thus  ignorant,  and  he  is  the  only  God  we  propose  to  de- 
fend against  the  would  -  be  cunning  flings  of  the  arch- 
scoffer. 

The  world  is  not  only  never  once  declared  to  be  flat  in 
the  Scriptures,  but  clearly  taught  to  be  globular  in  form, 
and  that  by  very  strong  arguments  shown  to  have  been 
the  source  from  whence  heathen  astronomy  derived  its  in- 
formation that  such  was  its  shape  !  As  it  is  not  the  pur- 
pose of  the  Bible  to  teach  natural  science,  all  allusions  to 
it  are  incidental  as  statements  of  fact,  without  attempting 
argument,  illustration,  or  verification.  It  must,  however, 
be  conceded  that  if  the  statements  are  true  they  will  be 
sustained  ultimately  by  the  deductions  of  nature,  as  philo- 
sophical science,  and  from  thenceforth  and  for  all  coming 
time,  constitute  the  standard  of  philosophical  science. 

In  relation  to  the  circular  form  of  the  world,  we  may  re- 
mark that  this  scoffer  is  too  ignorant  of  the  language  of 
the  Bible  to  discriminate  between  its  statements  and  those 
of  heathen  scientists,  shown  by  this  sarcasm  ;  as  there  is 
not  a  sentence  in  that  book  which  makes  the  world  flat, 
and  this  information  began  to  be  given  at  its  creation. 
One  very  comprehensive  account  of  the  work  is  brought 
out  by  a  comparison  between  it  and  the  pre-existence 
of  God,  in  anticipation  of  his  own   Immanuelization, 


54  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

prophetically  speaking  of  it  as  already  accomplished, 
thus  :  ''  When  he  prepared  the  heavens,  I  was  there  :  when 
he  set  a  compass  upon  the  face  of  the  depth  [the  great 
deep  of  Genesis — the  original  matter  out  of  which  the 
world  was  made]  :  when  he  established  the  clouds  : 
when  he  strengthened  the  fountains  of  the  deep :  when  he 
gave  to  the  sea  his  commandment :  when  he  appointed 
the  foundations  of  the  earth."      (Prov.  8:  27-30.) 

Here  are  the  globular  dimensions  of  the  earth  described. 
It  would  have  added  nothing  to  this  had  it  been  said,  it 
was  a  circle  every  way,  for  this  is  implied  in  not  asserting 
the  circle  to  be  flat,  and  by  what  follows  upon  the  subject. 
''  God  walketh  in  the  circuit  of  heaven."  (Job  22  :  14.) 
A  circuit  means  a  space  inclosed  in  a  circle.  The  atmos- 
pheric heaven,  or  firmament — meaning  the  same  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  being  a  circle,  it  follows  that  the  earth  thus 
inclosed  is  also  a  globe.  ''It  is  he  that  sitteth  upon  the 
circle  of  the  earth  that  stretcheth  out  the  heavens  as  a 
curtain,  and  spreadeth  them  out  as  a  tent  to  dwell  in." 
(Isa.  40  :  22.)  Here,  then,  God  struck  out  the  globular 
form  of  the  world  at  its  creation — encompassed  it  within 
a  circling  atmosphere.  None  of  the  conditions  here  men- 
tioned admit  the  idea  of  a  flat  circle,  as  walking,  sitting, 
or  dwelling  upon  a  sharp  edge  ;  but  all  clearly  indicate  the 
heaven  and  the  earth  to  be  circles  every  way,  thereby 
making  the  world  a  globe. 

The  Bible  Teaches  the  World's  Stispension. 

''  He  stretcheth  out  the  north  over  the  empty  place, 
and  hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing."  (Job  26  :  7.) 
The  facts  here  stated  present  us  with  the  philosophical 
astronomy  of  the  suspension  of  the  earth  :  First — It  is 
hung.  Second — It  is  hung  upon  nothing.  Third — It  is 
hung  over  empty  space.  Here  is  described,  in  the  most 
positive  manner,  and  by  the  use  of  the  most  unambiguous 
language,  all  the  essential  principles  of  natural  science 
upon  which  heavenly  bodies  and  systems  are  suspended, 
involving  the  law  of  universal  gravity.  Ci;eate  a  star,  or  a 
sun  of  whatever  size  or  ponderosity,  and  place  it  in  empty 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      55 

space,  which  means  a  perfect  vacuum — for  if  it  contained 
any  form  of  matter,  however  subtle  or  subhmated,  which, 
as  such  must  have  specific  gravity,  it  would  not  be  emp- 
ty, and  that  body  would  remain  fixed — suspended  and 
motionless.  No  matter  how  many  such  stars  there  are  in 
space,  as  long  as  they  are  beyond  the  attractive  or  repel- 
lent force  of  each  other,  supposing  all  to  be  thus  endowed, 
which  is  more  than  should  be  claimed  or  admitted,  as  they 
do  not  constitute  a  system,  still,  all  would  be  hung  in 
their  individual  localities,  and  which  would  also  preserve 
their  unchangeable  distances  from  each  other.  So,  also, 
would  it  be  with  planetary  systems  ;  the  reciprocal  attrac- 
tive and  repellent  forces  would  be  limited  to  the  sun  and 
planets  composing  them ;  each  being  beyond  the  force 
emanating  from  another,  would  remain  suspended  in  the 
precise  locality  of  "empty  space,"  where  its  Creator 
placed  it. 

That  space  is  empty,  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that 
the  annual  motion  of  the  earth  is  invariable  ;  but  which 
would  be  retarded  even  in  passing  through  the  most  sub- 
limated ether,  and  in  the  degree  of  its  density,  being 
that  also  of  its  friction.  Instead,  therefore,  of  Ingersoll's 
objection  that  God  did  not  know  the  form  of  the  earth  or 
world  he  made,  having  any  force  or  foundation  in  Scrip- 
ture teaching,  it  inculcates  more  instruction  upon  the 
subject  than  what  is  now  or  ever  has  been  known  of  the 
philosophic  science  of  astronomy,  and  yet  is  perfect  sci- 
ence. 

Heathen  Astronomy  Learned fj'om  Sc7'ipture. 

In  support  of  the  hypothesis  that  heathen  astronomers 
learned  the  suspension  and  globular  form  of  the  earth 
from  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  we  introduce 
the  following  history : 

''The  first  translation  of  the  Scriptures  from  the  Hebrew 
into  Greek  was  made  by  seventy-two  interpreters,  and 
by  the  order  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  king  of  Egypt ; 
which  is  hence  called  the  Septuagint,  and  was  completed 
in  seventy-two  days,  at  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  B.C.  277." 


56  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

(Josephus.)  It  was  commenced  B.C.  284,  according  to 
Langlet  ;  in  283,  according  to  Blair.  "  The  Jewish  San- 
hedrim consisted  of  seventy  members  ;  and  hence,  prob- 
ably, this  number  of  translators  as  mentioned  by  Josephus. ' ' 
(Hewlett.)  ''  The  seventy  were  shut  up  in  thirty-six  cells, 
and  each  pair  translated  the  whole ;  and  on  subsequent 
comparison,  it  was  found  that  the  thirty-live  copies  did 
not  vary  by  a  word  or  a  letter."      (Justin  Martyr.) 

*'  Euchd  was  a  native  of  Alexandria,  and  was  born 
about  300  B.C."  ("  World's  Progress,"  p.  315.)  Here  is 
Euchd,  the  great  mathematician,  flourishing  at  Alexandria, 
thirty  years  after  that  city  had  thirty-five  copies  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  in  his  own  language;  with  which  fact  he 
must  have  been  perfectly  familiar,  as  well  as  all  the  other 
Greek  philosophers  of  that  day,  as  all  were  students  of  that 
school. 

While  Euclid  was  teaching  at  the  great  Alexandrian 
Institute,  a  pupil  who  had  come  from  Scythia  to  attend 
his  school  on  one  occasion  said,  "  After  so  long  travelling 
in  the  sky,  we  returned  to  the  earth  ;  "  and  observed  to 
Euchd,  "We  have  not  brought  back  many  important 
truths,  after  so  long  a  journey.  We  shall  be  more  fortu- 
nate, no  doubt,  by  confining  ourselves  to  the  earth  ! 

Euclid  asked  how  so  ponderous  a  mass  as  the  earth  could 
maintain  its  equilibrium  in  the  air.  It  is  the  same  with 
the  earth,  perhaps,  as  with  the  fixed  planets  and  stars.  But, 
said  he,  precautions  have  been  taken  to  hinder  their  fall- 
ing by  attaching  them  to  spheres,  extremely  solid,  but 
transparent ;  these  spheres  turn,  and  the  heavenly  bodies 
revolve  with  them,  but  we  see  nothing  around  us  by 
which  the  earth  can  be  suspended  ;  why,  therefore,  does 
it  not  plunge  into  the  depth  of  surrounding  fluid  ?  Some 
say  the  reason  is  because  it  is  on  every  side  environed  by 
air ;  the  earth  is  a  mountain,  the  foundations  or  roots  of 
which  extend  themselves  into  the  infinite  profundity  of 
space.  We  occupy  the  summit  of  this  mountain,  and  may 
sleep  in  safety  upon  it. 

Others  flatten  the  under  part  of  it  (here  was  taught  the 
flat  earth  which  IngersoU  designedly  or  ignorantly  attrib- 
uted to    the  Scriptures),    that  it  may  rest  on  a  greater 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      57 

number  of  columns  of  air,  or  float  upon  the  waters.  But, 
if  we  make  choice  of  air  to  sustain  it,  that  is  too  weak ; 
if  of  water,  it  may  be  asked,  what  does  that  rest  upon  ? 
But  our  natural  philosophers  have  almost  proved  the  earth 
to  be  of  a  spherical  form,  and  have  lately  discovered  a 
more  simple  method  of  calming  our  apprehensions.  By 
virtue  of  a  general  law,  say  they,  all  heavenly  bodies  tend 
toward  one  great  point  which  is  the  centre  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  which  is  the  centre  of  the  earth.  All  the  con- 
stituent parts  of  the  earth,  therefore,  instead  of  flying  off 
from  the  centre,  are  continually  pressing  against  it. 

It  is  said  that  Thales  of  Miletus,  in  Ionia,  one  of  the 
seven  sages  of  Greece,  who  lived  about  two  hundred 
years  before,  had  made  this  discovery ;  but,  had  he  done 
so,  is  it  not  unaccountable  that  a  man  of  such  learning  and 
reputation  as  Euclid  should  have  publicly  taught  that  it 
was  but  lately  discovered,  and  that,  too,  by  their  own 
Alexandrian  philosophers  ?  Up  to  his  day,  therefore,  it 
had  been  taught  that  the  earth  was  shaped  like  a  cone,  the 
vertex  of  which  we  inhabited,  while  the  bottom  was  flat 
and  supported  upon  columns  of  air,  and  that  nothing 
was  known  about  its  suspension,  or  motion. 

The  natural  solution  of  this  discovery  is  to  be  found  in 
the  facts  that  as  the  globular  form  of  the  world  and  its 
suspension  were  taught,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  as  there  was  at  least  one  copy  in  this  school  in 
which  it  was  translated,  Euclid  and  his  contemporary 
philosophers  made  the  discovery  of  these  great  truths  of 
natural  science  from  these  writings — thus  again  expos- 
ing the  wantonness,  ignorance,  perversity,  and  blasphemy 
of  the  arch-scoffer  ! 


''Thou  Sun  Stand  Still  f' — The  End  must  be  Known 
to  Justify  the  Means. 

The  scoffer  says  :  ''  Some  of  the  gods  thought  the  day 
could  be  lengthened  by  stopping  the  sun."  This  is  evi- 
dently aimed  at  the  command  of  Joshua  to  the  sun  to 
stand  still ;  and  as  it  is  held  by  the  skeptics  to  be  one  of 


58  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

the  most  inconsistent  things  recorded  in  the  Bible,  we 
propose  to  examine  it  somewhat  extensively. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  other  members  of  the 
solar  system — sun,  moon,  and  stars  (planets),  were  made 
to  subserve  the  purposes  of  our  earth  and  its  inhabitants, 
and  we  have  shown  in  ''  Cosmogony  "  that  all  of  them, 
with  all  their  motions,  are  essential  to  the  production  of 
vegetables  upon  our  earth.  A  slight  reference  to  it  is  as 
follows : 

"  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  lights  in  the  firmament 
of  heaven  to  divide  the  day  from  the  night  [this  im- 
plies the  motion  of  the  earth  on  its  axis]  ;  and  let  them  be 
for  signs,  and  for  seasons  [this  implies  the  ecliptic  motion 
of  the  earth  ;  as  it  is  this  which  produces  the  seasons] 
and  for  days  [this  implies  the  earth's  motion  on  its  axis — 
as  it  is  this  which  produces  the  days]  and  for  years 
[this  implies  the  annual  motion  of  the  earth  around  the 
sun,  as  it  is  this  motion  which  produces  the  year  :  therefore 
are  these  the  signs  of  all  the  phenomenal  motions  of  the 
members  of  the  solar  system]  ;  let  them  be  for  lights  in 
the  firmament  of  heaven  to  give  light  upon  earth  [not 
that  these  bodies  were  placed  within  the  limits  of  the  at- 
mosphere, or  firmament ;  but  that  their  rays,  coming  in 
contact  and  passing  through  the  air  to  the  earth,  sets  its 
oxygen  on  fire  by  the  friction,  and  thus  they  give  light 
upon  earth  and  in  or  within  the  firmament  of  heaven,  and 
which  only  extends  forty-five  miles  from  the  surface  of 
the  earth  to  its  outer  verge.  Hence,  also,  we  have  the 
fact  here  taught  that  every  object  on,  or  above  the  surface 
of  the  earth  are  in  heaven,  properly  speaking,  which  fir- 
mament God  named  heaven  at  the  creation],  the  greater 
light  to  rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  to  rule  the 
night :   he  made  the  stars  also." 

The  waxing  and  waning  of  the  moon  divides  the  year 
into  thirteen  equal  parts — in  astronomy  called  ''Lunar 
months,"  signified  by  that  number  of  revolutions  the  moon 
makes  around  the  earth  in  a  year  ;  hence  it  is  the  sign  of 
these  months.  The  changes  of  the  moon  produces  other 
important  effects  upon  the  earth  besides  this,  which  is 
indicated  by  the    expression,   ''It  shall  be  for   signs." 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      59 

The  tides  are  so  accurately  ruled — produced  by  the  chang- 
ing phases  of  the  moon,  that  the  highest  tide  at  New 
York  is  invariably  at  nine  o'clock,  a.m.,  on  the  day  of  full 
moon.  And  so  it  is  at  any  given  point  on  the  face  of 
the  globe,  at  a  certain  day  and  hour,  each  month.  Hence, 
as  our  knowledge  of  philosophical  science  increases,  we 
discover  that  all  its  essential  facts  were  indicated  in  the 
statements  of  Genesis,  and  that  just  such  an  origin  and 
constitution  of  the  world  were  philosophic  and  scientific 
necessities,  and  therefore  the  account  could  only  have 
been  dictated  by  an  astronomer  advanced  even  beyond  any 
of  our  day,  who  was  the  Creator  himself. 

If  we  would  understand  the  superiority  of  the  world, 
composed  of  heaven  and  earth,  in  comparison  with  all 
other  bodies  in  space,  we  must  remember  that  the  Crea- 
tor's revealed  purpose  is  its  re-creation  into  a  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth,  constituting  a  new  world — "  The  world 
to  come  " — in  which  he  himself  with  his  angels  and  res- 
urrected immortal  people,  are  eternally  to  reside — "  World 
without  end." 

It  is  equally  the  revealed  purpose  to  keep  the  present 
world  in  existence  long  enough  to  induce  the  desired  and 
determined  number  by  the  offer  and  promise  of  such  an 
inheritance  and  nature  from  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
present  nations  and  generations,  to  accept  the  conditions 
and  become  his  loving,  loyal  people,  and  willing  subjects 
of  that  coming  world  and  kingdom ;  consequently,  that 
day  upon  which  the  complement  is  full,  will  be  the  last 
day  of  the  present  world,  and  the  first  day  of  the  world  to 
come.  Everything  between  the  creation  of  the  present 
world  and  the  destined  re-creation  is,  of  course,  tem- 
poral, while  all  beyond  is  changeless  immortality.  While 
skeptical,  speculative,  and  false  science  seeks  to  belittle 
the  world  by  making  comparisons  between  it  and  the 
stars  of  space,  God's  great  revelation  gives  it  infinite  im- 
portance to  any  and  all  other  bodies  of  space. 

It  must  be  obvious  to  every  intelligent  mind,  that 
without  taking  this  revealed  end  into  the  account  which 
gives  the  reasons  for  the  present  existence  of  things,  all 
must  be  involved  in  mystery ;  and  as  this  design   and 


60  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

philosophy  is  only  written  in  the  Scriptures,  its  teaching 
alone  can  solve  the  mystery.  Whatever  is  found  here 
taught  conducive  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  proposed 
end,  must  be  consistent  for  the  Creator  to  do  or  have 
done ;  consequently,  when  any  man  or  body  of  men  re- 
fuse to  become  such  loyal  subjects,  and  combine  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  others  from  doing  so,  they  have  not 
only  failed  of  the  purpose  of  their  being,  but  array  them- 
selves against  the  Creator's  carrying  out  his  purposes  for 
which  he  made  man  and  the  world. 

For  one  of  such  characters  to  remonstrate  with  the 
Creator  for  the  execution  of  whatever  he  does,  manifests 
the  presumption  that  the  owner  of  the  world  has  no  right 
to  establish  a  universal  government  of  loyal  subjects  and 
righteous  men,  because  it  involves  the  necessary  de- 
struction of  his  enemies,  who  have  refused  to  become 
such  subjects. 

Latid  of  Cajtaan  Pi'omised  to  the  Hebrews, 

In  the  accomplishment  of  his  plan  with  man  and  the 
world,  and  within  a  certain  period,  God  considered  it 
necessary,  or  to  the  best  advantage,  to  raise  up  a  certain 
nation  and  place  them  in  a  certain  country,  giving  them 
a  written  law  for  their  government.  He  announced  this 
purpose  to  Abraham,  at  which  time  every  nation  in  the 
world  worshipped  idol-gods,  and  of  course  dishonored 
the  living  God  and  their  rightful  sovereign.  '^  And  God 
said  unto  Abraham,  Know  of  a  surety  that  thy  seed 
shall  be  a  stranger  in  a  land  that  is  not  their's,  and  shall 
serve  them ;  and  they  shall  afflict  them  four  hundred 
years  :  and  also  that  nation,  whom  they  shall  serve,  will 
I  judge  ;  and  afterward  shall  they  come  out  with  great 
substance.  In  the  fourth  generation  they  shall  come 
hither;  for  the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is  not  yet  full." 
(Gen.  15.) 

Here  we  have  the  prediction  and  promise  of  a  cov- 
enant that  of  Abraham's  seed  God  was  to  make  a  great 
nation,  but  this  seed  was  first  to  be  in  bondage  to  a 
strange  nation,  four  hundred  years.     Of  course  this  was 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      6l 

the  Egyptian  bondage,  which  took  place  exactly  accord- 
ing to  these  facts  and  figures.  It  is  important  to  under- 
stand that  this  affliction  had  culminated  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Hebrew  nation  in  a  single  coming  genera- 
tion. Pharaoh  had  made  a  decree,  and  was  executing  it, 
by  which  every  male  Hebrew  child  that  was  born,  should 
be  killed.  God  must  therefore  deliver  his  people  imme- 
diately from  Egypt,  or  suffer  the  defeat  of  his  purpose. 

God  told  Abraham  at  the  time  he  made  this  covenant 
that  the  Amorites  were  then  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  but 
were  not  so  universally  idolatrous  that  he  could  induce 
none  of  them  to  become  his  loyal  subjects  and  candi- 
dates for  his  new  world ;  hence  he  would  not  then  dis- 
possess them  ;  and  these  were  the  very  people  with  whom 
Joshua  had  the  battle  when  he  commanded  the  sun  to 
stand  still,  but  which  was  more  than  four  hundred  years 
afterward.  During  this  period  the  Hebrews  were  reared 
from  the  family  of  Jacob,  and  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 
whom  God  was  to  separate  from  all  the  idolatrous  na- 
tions, the  time  having  come  for  him  to  put  them  in 
possession  of  the  promised  land,  whose  inhabitants — 
the  Amorites — having  now  filled  up  the  measure  of  their 
iniquity  ;  that  is,  none  of  them  from  this  time  could  be 
induced  to  become  candidates  for  his  new  world. 

The  sin  of  idolatry  is  such  as  a  child  may  commit 
against  his  father  by  bestowing  his  love  and  obedience 
upon  another.  Nay,  infinitely  worse ;  for  it  is  the  thing 
made  that  turns  against    its  Maker. 

The  law  against  this  sin  was  given  from  Mount  Sinai 
while  these  people  were  journeying  to  the  promised 
land,  and  which  show  its  hateful  character  in  the  sight 
of  God,  and  his  desire  for  its  suppression.  ''Take 
heed  unto  yourselves,  lest  ye  forget  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord  your  God,  which  he  made  with  you,  and  make 
you  a  graven  image,  or  the  likeness  of  anything  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  hath  forbidden  thee  ;  for  the  Lord  thy 
God  is  a  consuming  fire,  even  a  jealous  God.  When 
thou  shalt  beget  children,  and  children's  children,  and 
ye  shall  have  remained  long  in  the  Und,  and  shall  cor- 
rupt  yourselves,  and  make  a  graven  image,  or  the  like- 


62  ZOROASTER    A   THEIST. 

ness  of  anything,  and  shall  do  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  thy  God,  to  provoke  him  to  anger,  I  call  heaven 
and  earth  to  witness  against  you  this  day,  that  ye  shall 
utterly  perish  from  off  the  land  whereunto  you  go  over 
Jordan  to  possess  it ;  and  the  Lord  shall  scatter  you 
among  the  nations,  and  ye  shall  be  left  few  in  number, 
among  the  heathen.  There  ye  shall  serve  gods,  the  work 
of  men's  hands,  wood  and  stone,  which  neither  see, 
nor  hear,  nor  eat,  nor  smell.  I  am  the  Lord  your  God, 
which  brought  you  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  from 
the  house  of  bondage.  Thou  shalt  have  none  other  God 
before  me.  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven 
image,  or  any  likeness  of  anything  that  is  in  heaven 
above,  or  that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the 
waters  under  the  earth.  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thy- 
self unto  them  :  for  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a  jealous 
God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  chil- 
dren unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them  that 
hate  me,  and  showing  mercy  unto  thousands  of  them  that 
love  me  and  keep  my  commandments. ' ' 

IVas  tJie  Object  Important  Enough  to  Arrest  the  Sun  in 
its   Course  ? 

For  these  reasons  we  can  understand  that  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Hebrew  nation  was  indispensable  in  carrying 
out  God's  purpose  with  the  world,  and,  if  prevented, 
would  defeat  that  object.  If  we  now  turn  to  the  record 
about  Joshua  commanding  the  sun  to  stand  still,  we 
shall  find  that  the  Amorites  refused  to  let  Joshua  lead 
the  Hebrews  through  their  land.  Not  only  so,  but  a 
confederation  of  five  nations  made  war  upon  one  nation, 
because  it  had  made  friends  with  the  Hebrews.  The 
question  therefore  was,  whether  the  Creator  and  owner  of 
the  world  should  abandon  his  project  with  it  and  his 
kingdom,  or  those  Amorites  be  destroyed  who  had  made 
war  upon  him  and  his  servants. 

The  history  is  written  thus:  ''Now  it  came  to  pass, 
when  Adonizedec,  King  of  Jerusalem,  had  heard  how 
Joshua  had  taken  Ai,  and  had  utterly  destroyed  it;  as  he 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      63 

had  done  to  Jericho  and  her  king  also ;  and  how  the 
inhabitants  of  Gibeon  had  made  peace  with  Israel, 
and  were  among  them,  that  they  greatly  feared,  because 
Gibeon  was  a  great  city,  one  of  the  royal  cities,  and 
greater  than  Ai,  and  all  the  men  thereof  were  mighty, 
wherefor  Adon-i-zed-ic,  King  of  Jerusalem,  sent  unto 
Ho-ham,  King  of  Hedron,  and  unto  Pi-ram,  King  of 
Jar-muth,  and  unto  Japh-i-a,  King  of  Lach-ish,  and  unto 
Derby,  King  of  Eg-lon,  saying,  come  up  unto  me,  and 
help  me,  that  we  may  smite  Gibeon :  for  it  hath  made 
peace  with  Joshua  and  with  the  children  of  Israel. 
Therefore  the  five  kings  of  the  Amorites  gathered  them- 
selves together,  and  went  up  and  encamped  before  Gibeon, 
and  made  war  against  it.  And  the  men  of  Gibeon  sent 
unto  Joshua  to  the  camp  of  Gilgal,  saying.  Slack  not  thy 
hand  from  thy  servants ;  come  up  quickly,  and  save  us  : 
for  all  the  kings  of  the  Amorites  that  dwell  in  the 
mountains  are  gathered  together  against  us. 

''So  Joshua  and  all  the  people  of  war,  and  all  the 
mighty  men  with  him  ascended  up  from  Gilgal.  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Joshua,  Fear  them  not :  for  I  have 
delivered  them  into  thine  hand  ;  there  shall  not  a  man  of 
them  stand  before  thee.  Joshua  therefore  went  up  all 
night  and  came  unto  them  suddenly  and  the  Lord 
discomfited  them  before  Israel,  and  slew  them  with  a 
great  slaughter  at  Gideon,  and  chased  them  along  the 
way  that  goeth  up  to  Beth-horan,  and  smote  them  to 
A-ze-kah,  and  unto  Mak-ke-dah.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
as  they  fled  from  before  Israel,  and  were  in  the  going 
down  to  Beth-horan,  that  the  Lord  cast  down  great 
stones  from  heaven  upon  them  unto  A-ze-kah,  and  they 
were  more  which  died  with  the  hailstones  than  they 
whom  the  children  of  Israel  slew  with  the  sword. 

' '  Then  spake  Joshua  to  the  Lord  [regretting  that  the 
sun  was  going  down]  in  the  day  when  the  Lord  delivered 
up  the  Amorites  before  the  children  of  Israel,  and  said. 
Thou  sun,  stand  still  upon  Gibeon  ;  and  thou  moon,  in 
the  valley  of  Ajalon  !  And  the  sun  stood  still,  and 
the  moon  stayed,  until  the  people  had  avenged  them- 
selves upon  their  enemies.     So  the  sun  stood  still  in  the 


64  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

midst  of  heaven,  and  hasted  not  to  go  down  about  a 
whole  day.  And  there  was  no  day  hke  that  before  and 
the  Lord  hearkened  unto  the  voice  of  a  man  :  for  the  Lord 
fought  for  Israel."     (Joshua  lo.) 

That  it  was  the  Lord,  and  not  Joshua  who  obtained 
this  victory,  is  certain,  from  the  fact  that  more  were  killed 
by  the  hailstones  God  rained  down  from  heaven  upon 
the  Amorites  than  by  the  arms  of  the  Israelites,  and  that, 
too,  while  they  were  in  full  flight.  They  saw  the  battle 
was  going  against  them,  and  chose  flight  that  they  might 
increase  their  allies  and  renew  the  contest  at  some  future 
day.  To  prevent  the  success  of  this  stratagem  the  hail- 
stones were  brought  into  requisition.  But  it  was  plain 
to  see  that  still  a  great  number  of  the  Amorites  were 
about  to  make  good  their  escape.  The  sun  was  going 
down,  and,  covered  by  the  darkness  of  the  night,  many 
of  them  would  have  escaped,  but  by  this  prayer  and  its 
answer  they  were  so  completely  destroyed  that  they  gave 
the  Hebrews  no  further  trouble  ;  and  God  fulfilled  his 
word  to  Joshua:  "  Not  a  man  of  them  shall  stand  be- 
fore thee!  " 

Astronomical  Objection  Answered. 

As  to  the  objection  of  Ingersoll  that  Joshua  was  igno- 
rant of  astronomy,  supposing  the  day  could  be  lengthened 
by  the  sun  standing  still  when  it  does  not  move,  we 
think  for  the  same  reason  the  ignorance  is  on  the  other 
side.  As  it  is  not  the  object  of  the  Scriptures  to  teach 
the  science  of  modern  astronomy,  they  do  not  use  its 
technical  phrases,  but  discourse  about  the  heavenly  bodies 
as  their  phenomena  appears  to  us.  We  have  already 
shown  that  the  signs  for  days,  months,  seasons,  and  years, 
taught  their  motions,  and  that  of  the  earth  on  its  axis  pro- 
duces the  day  and  night,  and  which  no  Scripture  state- 
ment attributes  to  the  sun  alone  for  the  division  of  the 
light  from  the  darkness.  Having,  therefore,  once  in  its 
history  of  creation  explained  these  phenomena,  they  after- 
ward speak  of  day  and  night  as  they  appear,  and  say  the 
sun  rises  and  sets,  or  at  sunrise  and  sunset,  or  sundown. 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OP^  THE  EARTH.      65 

Ingersoll  would  have  appeared  just  as  ridiculously  ig- 
norant were  he  to  have  declared  that  Sir  Isaac  Newton 
was  so  ignorant  of  astronomy  that  he  supposed  the  sun 
revolved  around  the  earth  because  he  used  the  phrases, 
"  The  sun  rose  and  the  sun  went  down,  and  that  he  did  not 
know  but  that  the  day  was  lengthened  by  the  use  of  such 
expressions. "  In  a  class-book  of  ' '  Newton's  Astronomy, ' ' 
by  Elijah  H.  Burriett,  A.M.,  we  read  these  words  :  "  Now, 
when  the  sun  or  moon  is  just  emerging  above  the  eastern 
horizon,  or  sinking  beneath  the  western." 

As  a  consequence  of  the  day  being  lengthened  twenty- 
four  hours  where  this  battle  was  fought,  the  night  was 
lengthened  equally  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  earth ;  and 
as  nothing  was  ever  known  of  such  a  night,  therefore  it 
never  occurred,  say  the  skeptics.  In  answer,  we  may  re- 
mind the  scoffers  that  it  was  only  eleven  hundred  and 
eighteen  years  after  the  flood  to  the  days  of  Joshua,  at 
which  time  the  repopulation  of  the  earth  commenced,  and 
with  but  eight  human  beings,  and,  with  their  means  and 
motives  for  travel,  had  not  spread  to  the  Feejee  Islands, 
the  opposite  side  of  the  globe  from  Jerusalem,  or  far  enough 
from  that  centre  to  make  a  perceptible  difference  in  the 
length  of  the  night.  Besides  this,  the  pendulum  had  not 
been  invented,  and  there  were  no  timepieces ;  and  it 
was  long  before  the  period  of  reliable  history — except 
that  of  the  sacred  Scriptures. 

The  effort  to  belittle  the  earth  by  drawing  invidious 
comparisons  between  it  and  the  many  fixed  stars  of  space, 
about  which  there  is  absolutely  nothing  known,  except 
their  existence,  originates  in  mere  atheistic  ignorance, 
and  a  desire  to  have  it  so :  for  the  purpose  of  creating 
prejudice  against  the  Bible,  as  it  gives  the  world  more  im- 
portance than  all  the  material  universe  besides  ! 

Objections  to  the  Flood  Answered. 

Another  of  these  skeptical  objections  to  the  Creator 
being  the  author  of  the  Bible,  relates  to  its  record  of  the 
flood  ;  and  it  is  asked  where  did  the  water  come  from, 
and  where  did  it  go  ?     These  objectors  generally  adopt 


66  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

the  views  of  Professor  Agassiz  and  Sir  Cliarles  Lyell,  who 
claim  that  since  men  were  upon  earth,  and  during  what  is 
called  "  The  glacier  period,  there  was  a  greater  deluge  of 
water  upon  earth  than  that  of  the  flood,  in  the  days  of 
Noah.  The  only  cause  assigned  by  Agassiz  for  the  deluge 
of  water  and  ice  was  the  sudcfen  elevation  of  the  Euro- 
pean continent,  five  thousand  feet,  and  that  of  the  Ameri- 
can, eight  thousand  feet."  Such  an  elevation  would 
bring  them  to  a  level  with  the  top  of  those  mountains 
covered  with  perpetual  ice  and  snow.  According  to  this 
authority  the  continents  thus  elevated  were  covered  with 
ice  hundreds  of  feet  in  thickness  —  great  icebergs  were 
formed  and  floated  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  the 
Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  Oceans,  carrying  with  them 
bowlders  from  one  section  of  the  earth  to  another. 
Agassiz  says  :  '^  He  had  seen  traces  upon  the  rocks  worn 
by  these  fields  of  floating  ice  at  these  thousands  of  feet 
above  the  present  level  of  the  sea. ' ' 

It  must  be  remembered  that  floating  ice  is  about  nine- 
tenths  under  water  ;  the  water,  therefore,  must  have  been 
hundreds  of  feet  deep  upon  these  land  elevations,  in  order 
to  float  the  icebergs. 

The  inventors  of  this  theory  and  those  who  adopt  it, 
do  not  give  us  the  duration  of  the  glacier  period,  but 
talk  about  it  as  one  of  the  ''geological  periods;"  and 
everyone  knows  the  enormous  length  and  indefiniteness 
of  such  periods  ;  but  if  the  continents  of  Europe  and 
America  were  thus  covered  with  water  for  the  space  of 
only  one  year  upon  that  part  of  the  world,  the  whole 
earth  would  be  equally  covered,  as  certainly  as  that  water 
seeks  its  level.  Now  let  the  skeptics.  Professor  Agassiz 
and  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  tell  us  where  the  water  came  from 
to  thus  flood  the  continents  of  the  world,  and  where  did 
it  subside,  and  the  scientific  answer  will  dispose  of  the 
objection  of  the  scoffers  as  to  the  biblical  flood.  Nor  did 
he  who  produced  this  flood  perform  the  wonderful  mir- 
acle (a  work  of  which  nature  is  incapable)  of  suddenly 
elevating  the  surface  'Of  the  round  world  thousands  of  feet 
every  way  from  its  centre  and  then  of  covering  its  surface 
to  the  depth  of  hundreds  of  feet  with  water  and  floating 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      6/ 

ire ;  for  the  account  states  that  the  highest  mountains 
were  covered  fifteen  cubits — twenty-eight  feet  only.  And 
it  must  also  be  remembered  that  the  extreme  depressions 
and  elevations  upon  the  surface  of  the  present  earth  were 
the  results  of  the  flood.  "  And  the  fountains  of  the  great 
deep  were  broken  up  :  ' '  the  crust  of  the  earth  which  had 
inclosed  these  fountains  from  the  creation,  permitting  the 
waters  to  belch  forth  and  cover  the  earth. 

That  Agassiz  was  a  skeptic,  is  certain  from  what  he  said 
in  the  introduction  of  a  lecture  delivered  to  the  students 
and  professors  of  a  New  England  college,  thus:  ''If  any 
of  my  listeners  believe  in  the  Book  of  Moses,  he  had  bet- 
ter not  hear  me. ' '  Now,  in  the  name  of  science,  let  us  ask 
whether  the  account  of  the  flood  of  Agassiz,  or  that  of 
Genesis,  is  the  most  consistent  ? 

We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  up  to  the  time  of 
the  flood,  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth  was  a  beautiful 
rolling  prairie,  of  gently  rising  hills,  among  which  ran 
streams  and  rivers,  with  here  and  there  a  beautiful  lake, 
all  of  which  were  destroyed  by  the  breaking  up  of  the 
earth's  crust  by  the  Creator  himself,  to  use  the  waters 
buried  within  for  the  purpose  of  flooding  the  world,  leav- 
ing more  than  two-thirds  of  its  surface  covered  with  briny 
oceans.  Up  to  that  catastrophe  there  was  probably  not 
a  mountain  higher  than  thirty  feet  above  the  lowest  'de- 
pression of  a  lake  or  sea,  upon  the  whole  face  of  the  earth. 
If,  therefore,  the  water  had  risen  fifty  feet,  it  would  have 
covered  the  highest  mountain  fifteen  cubits. 

The  ordinary  swelling  of  the  oceans  by  the  influence  of 
the  sun  and  moon,  sets  the  waters  back  on  the  shores  in 
some  places  as  high  as  twenty  feet  in  six  hours.  It  is  a 
fact  of  science  that  atomic  motion,  whether  of  solids  or 
fluids,  create  heat  by  their  friction  against  each  other. 
The  aqueous  motion  of  this  great  fountain  composed  of 
these  atoms  and  bursting  forth  upon  the  earth,  would  itself 
have  expanded  these  mighty  waters  sufficiently  to  have 
produced  the  rise  to  the  extent  descr.il)ed,  the  cessation  of 
which  would  have  condensed  it  again  to  the  subsequent 
level  of  the  sea.  Hence,  according  to  the  well-known 
fa.cts  of  science,  this  universal  aqueous  tumult  was  suscept- 


68  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

ible  of  producing  the  flood  in  the  days  of  Noah.  The 
catastrophe  of  Agassiz  in  breaking  up  the  crust  of  the 
earth — throwing  continents  thousands  of  feet  high  on 
every  side  and  piHng  hundreds  of  feet  of  water  and  ice 
upon  them,  presents  a  convulsion  of  nature  in  comparison 
with  which  that  of  Noah's  day  sinks  into  insignificance  ! 
If,  therefore,  nature  herself  produced  such  a  gigantic  up- 
heaval and  flood,  could  not  the  God  of  nature  have  pro- 
duced the  lesser  one?  And  if  that  never  occurred,  could 
not  he  who  formed  the  waters  with  their  inherent  laws, 
have  increased  their  temperature  fifteen  degrees,  which 
would  have  swollen  them  to  the  height  demanded  for  the 
purpose,  and  the  very  friction  of  the  tumult  would  have 
produced  this?  No  !  gentlemen,  skeptical  scientists,  you 
must  bring  more  formidable  objections  against  Scripture 
statements  than  these,  and  after  having  them  thus  ex- 
posed there  will  not  be  the  least  danger  of  your  producing 
skeptical  impressions  upon  minds  of  even  ordinary  intel- 
ligence, and  the  further  demand  for  such  superficial  and 
cunning  sayings  as  those  of  Ingersoll's  will  be  taken  at 
very  great  discount,  if  there  will  be  any  market  w^iatever 
for  them,  and  your  craft  of  money  making  by  slandering 
God  and  the  Bible,  will  be  gone. 

The  Ai'ch-scoffer  Sneers  at  the  Little  Ark. 

"  There  was  not  room  enough  in  the  ark  to  accommo- 
date the  animals  and  their  food.  The  wood  would  rot  in 
the  one  hundred  and  twenty  years,  the  time  the  ark  was 
in  building.  The  wild  and  domestic  animals  could  not 
live  together." 

It  would  be  reasonable  to  suppose,  and  so  we  find  it  in 
Scripture  record,  that  the  Creator  would  employ  ordinary 
means  as  far  as  they  were  available  and  adequate  for  the 
execution  of  any  purpose,  and  afterward  any  act  of  crea- 
tion or  destruction,  either  of  individuals  or  generations, 
cities,  or  worlds.  In  a  word,  the  suspension  or  reversion 
of  any  and  every  law  of  nature — cannot  the  proprietor  do 
as  he  pleases  with  his  own  ?  The  great  miracle  of  the 
world's  creation  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  faith,  but  estab- 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      69 

lished  upon  the  logic  of  a  score  of  syllogisms  which  are 
no  more  assailable  than  are  the  facts  that  the  sun  pro- 
duces light  and  heat  upon  our  planet.  This  renders  the 
conclusion  inevitable  that  any  and  every  subsequent  in- 
terference of  the  Creator,  and  of  course  upon  a  lesser 
scale,  is  also  consistent,  because  a  lesser  miracle  than  that 
of  the  original  creation. 

The  following  is  the  record  of  the  facts  of  the  ark  : 
''And  God  looked  upon  the  earth,  and  behold  !  it  was 
corrupt :  all  flesh  had  corrupted  their  way  upon  the 
earth.  And  God  said  unto  Noah,  the  end  of  all  flesh  is 
come  before  me ;  for  the  earth  is  filled  with  violence,  and, 
behold,  I  will  destroy  them  with  the  earth.  Make  thee 
an  ark  of  gopher  wood ;  rooms  shalt  thou  make  in  the 
ark,  and  shall  pitch  it  within  and  without  with  pitch. 
[If  the  parts  were  pitched  as  soon  as  they  were  finished 
they  would  not  have  decayed  in  a  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  whether  in  air  or  water ;  and  this  answers  one  of 
the  scoffer's  objections.  He  can  believe  that  unconscious 
nature  could  have  been  engaged  an  indefinite  period  of 
thousands  of  years  in  making  the  first  animals  which 
necessitated  the  preservation  of  the  fleshly  parts  made 
first,  from  decay,  during  these  thousands  of  years ;  but  the 
God  of  nature  could  not  keep  pitched  wood  a  hundred 
and  twenty  years  from  decay.  Who  cannot  see  this  man's 
wickedness  and  ignorant  blunders  ?]  And  the  length  of 
the  Ark  shall  be  three  hundred  cubits  [550  feet],  and 
the  breadth  of  it  fifty  cubits  [91  feet],  and  the  height  of 
it  thirty  cubits  [55  feet]. 

''A  window  shalt  thou  make  in  the  ark  [so  ignorant  of 
the  record  itself  are  these  freethinkers,  that  they  publicly 
deny  there  was  any  ventilation  in  the  ark,  when  here  it 
is  stated  that  a  window  was  to  be  made — a  place  for  the 
wind :  bad  air  to  escape]  and  in  a  cubit  shalt  thou  finish 
it  above  [above  is  the  place  for  ventilators]  ;  and  a  door 
of  the  Ark  shall  be  set  in  the  side  thereof:  with  lower, 
second,  and  third  stories  shalt  thou  make  it.  And  be- 
hold !  I,  even  I,  do  bring  a  flood  of  waters  upon  the 
earth,  to  destroy  all  flesh,  wherein  is  the  breath  of  life, 
from  under  heaven  j  every  thing  that  is  in  the  dry  land 


70  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

shall  die.  And  thou  and  thy  sons,  and  thy  wife  and  thy 
sons'  wives  shall  come  with  thee  into  the-^ark,  and  every 
living  thing  of  all  flesh,  two  of  every  sort  [kind — ^species] 
shalt  thou  bring  into  the  ark,  to  keep  alive  with  thee ; 
they  shall  be  male  and  female.  Of  fowls  after  their  kind, 
and  of  cattle  after  their  kind,  of  every  creeping  thing  of 
the  earth  after  his  kind.  And  take  unto  thee  of  all  food 
that  is  eaten,  and  thou  shalt  gather  it  to  thee  and  it  shall 
be  for  food  for  thee  and  for  them.  Of  every  clean  beast 
thou  shalt  take  to  thee  by  sevens,  the  male  and  his 
female :  of  fowls  also  of  the  air  by  sevens,  the  male  and 
female ;  to  keep  seed  alive  upon  the  earth.  And  Noah 
went  in  and  his  sons,  and  his  wife,  and  his  sons'  wives 
with  him,  into  the  ark,  of  clean  beasts,  and  of  beasts 
that  are  not  clean,  and  of  fowls,  and  of  every  thing  that 
creepeth  upon  the  earth.  These  went  in  two  and  two 
unto  Noah  into  the  ark,  the  male  and  female,  as  God 
had  commanded  Noah.     And  the  Lord  shut  him  in. 

''And  the  waters  increased  greatly  upon  the  earth  and 
bear  up  the  ark,  and  the  ark  went  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters,  and  all  the  high  hills,  that  were  under  the  whole 
heaven  were  covered,  fifteen  cubits  [28  feet]  upward  did 
the  waters  prevail ;  and  the  mountains  were  covered. 
And  all  flesh  died  that  moved  upon  the  earth,  both  of 
fowls  and  cattle,  and  of  beast,  and  of  every  creeping 
thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth,  and  every  man ;  all 
in  whose  nostrils  was  the  breath  of  life,  of  all  that  was 
in  the  dry  land,  died.  Noah  only  remained  alive,  and 
they  that  were  with  him  in  the  ark.  And  the  waters 
prevailed  upon  the  earth  one  hundred  and  fifty  days." 
(Gen.  6  and  7.) 

In  order  to  ascertain  whether  the  dimensions  of  the 
ark  were  sufficient  to  accommodate  the  male  and  female 
of  each  species  of  animals  and  fowls  living  upon  earth  of 
those  unclean,  and  seven  pairs  of  clean  beasts  and  fowls 
(the  clean  beasts  were  those  used  for  food  and  sacrifice, 
and  were  a  very  small  part  of  living  creatures  or  their 
species). 

The  ark  was  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  ninety- 
one  feet   wide,  and    fifty-five   high,  divided   into   three 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      7.I 

stories,  which  gives  about  eighteen  feet  between  the 
floors;  making  in  all  180,150  square  feet  of  floor  sur- 
face. 

The  most  celebrated  authors  of  the  natural  history  of 
animals,  such  as  Buffon,  Lennaus,  and  Cuvier,  give  classi- 
fications founded  upon  physiological  structure  and  quali- 
ties, and  not  so  much  upon  the  definition  and  identity  of 
species.  Of  course  they  did  not  deem  this  question  of 
the  importance  it  has  assumed  in  our  day  by  the  theory 
of  Darwin's  evolution,  commenced  by  Lennaus,  which 
blots  out  the  plurality  of  species  by  the  unfounded  specu- 
lation that  all  the  varieties  of  living  things  and  beings 
upon  our  globe,  evolved  from  a  single  one,  and  that  from 
lifeless  matter.  If  this  theory  had  been  true,  an  ark, 
to  save  life  or  seed,  was  wholly  unnecessary,  as  the  earth 
would  have  evolved  all  living  creatures  the  second  time, 
just  as  it  did  the  first,  from  a  single  living  thing.  The 
true  and  only  scientific  test  of  species,  is,  that  species  by 
crossing  will  not  reproduce  ;  while  races  will  produce 
generation  after  generation  indefinitely.  This  fact  re- 
duces all  the  varieties,  or  races  of  dogs,  for  instance,  to 
a  single  pair;   and  so  it  is  with  all  other  living  creatures. 

We  do  not  think  the  evidence  is  sufficient  to  prove 
that  there  are  or  ever  have  been  three  hundred  species  of 
animals  in  size  between  the  mouse  and  elephant,  or  mas- 
todon, including  these.  If  we  give  each  of  these  pairs — 
600  in  all — 20  square  feet  on  an  average,  it  would  take 
12,000  feet.  If  there  were  one  million  insects  of  less 
size  than  the  mouse,  including  male  and  female,  and  give 
each  pair  one  fourth  of  a  square  foot,  it  would  take  25,- 
000  feet  more — and  ten  times  the  number  could  live  in 
such  a  space — it  leaves  143,150  feet  of  floor  surface  still 
to  be  appropriated.  Now,  give  the  fowls  and  birds  an 
equal  number  of  feet — and  there  are  not  one  quarter  as 
many  species  of  them,  nor  will  they  occupy  one  fourth 
of  the  space,  and  it  still  leaves  100,000  square  feet  of 
floor  room  for  food,  which  could  be  piled  18  feet  high. 
We  put  these  facts  and  figures  against  the  laughs  and 
scoffs  of  IngersoU,  relating  to  the  little  ark  of  God's  de- 
sign, to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  case. 


72  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

This  disposes  of  all  the  infidel  objections  to  the  ark 
and  flood,  except  that  relating  to  the  alleged  impossibility 
of  the  wild  and  domestic  animals  living  together  in  peace 
one  hundred  and  fifty  days.  It  is  unaccountable  how 
often  it  is  necessary  to  remind  these  gentlemen  skeptics 
that  it  is  not  their  god,  nature,  who  is  doing  this  busi- 
ness ;  so  conscious  they  seem  to  be  that  he  is  a  mere 
slave  to  himself  (nature),  and  can  do  nothing  requiring 
will  and  intelligence,  or  even  to  start  in  a  new  track, 
not  even  the  simplest  thing  of  volition,  of  which  they 
themselves  are  capable.  Now,  cannot  the  Maker  of  man, 
as  easily  send  the  animals  tame  and  docile  to  Noah,  into 
the  ark,  and  keep  them  in  such  a  condition,  a  hundred 
and  fifty  days,  as  to  have  made  their  disposition  as  a 
part  of  their  nature  ?  Thus  at  every  step  we  find  the 
freethinkers  to  be  no  thinkers,  but  free  talkers  ! 

Division  of  Light  on  the  First  Tliree  Days  oj  Creation. 

Another  astronomical  blunder  of  Ingersoll,  and  not 
Moses,  relates  to  the  light  on  the  first  three  days  of  crea- 
tion, before  the  sun  was  made.  As  a  rule  the  greater 
the  astronomer,  the  more  blunders  he  is  able  to  discover 
in  the  writings  and  teachings  of  science,  by  mere  pre- 
tenders of  a  knowledge  of  it.  In  this  case  Ingersoll 
makes  three  blunders,  and  Moses  none  :  First,  in  misstat- 
ing the  facts.  Second,  his  ignorance  of  the  essential 
philosophy  involved  in  the  creation  of  light.  Third,  in 
supposing  the  knowledge  and  power  of  God  was  limited 
to  a  single  method  in  the  division  of  light  and  darkness. 
In  order  to  vindicate  Genesis  and  expose  the  ignorance 
and  presumption  of  the  so-called  scientific  skeptics,  we 
must  introduce  the  history  of  the  transaction,  substantially 
as  follows  :  "In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven 
and  the  earth.  And  the  earth  was  without  form  and 
void  [void  of  the  forms  it  was  now  to  receive]  and  dark- 
ness was  upon  the  face  of  the  great  deep.  And  God  said. 
Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  hght.  And  God  divided 
the  light  from  the  darkness,  and  the  light  he  called  day 
and  the  darkness  he  called  night.     And  the  evening  and 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      73 

the  morning  were  the  first  day.  And  God  said,  Let  there 
be  lights  in  the  firmament  of  heaven  to  divide  the  day 
from  the  night ;  and  let  them  be  for  signs,  and  for 
seasons,  and  for  days,  and  for  years :  and  let  them  be 
for  lights  in  the  firmament  of  heaven  to  give  light  upon 
earth  ;  and  it  was  so.  And  God  made  two  great  lights  ; 
the  greater  light  to  rule  the  day  and  the  lesser  light  to 
rule  the  night :  he  made  the  stars  also  [planets].  And  God 
set  them  in  the  firmament  of  heaven  to  give  light  upon 
the  earth,  and  to  rule  over  the  day  and  over  the  night, 
and  to  divide  the  light  from  the  darkness :  and  the  even- 
ing and  the  morning  were  the  fourth  day."  (Gen.  i  : 
1-5  and  14-18,) 

Here  we  have  the  great  deep,  of  the  matter  called  water, 
but  devoid  of  the  forms  it  was  made  to  assume  during  the 
work  of  the  six  days.  It  was  not  pure  water,  as  we  read 
afterward  of  the  dry  land  being  separated  from  it,  which 
was  then  called  earth  ;  its  particles,  therefore,  had  none  of 
the  properties  which  identifies  them  as  earth,  in  contrast 
to  water  or  air.  Without  these  being  endowed  with  ad- 
hesive attraction — electrical,  or  thermo-electricity,  not  a 
particle  of  it  could  have  moved — as  it  is  these  which  give 
the  atoms  inclination  to  move,  and  this  motion  displaces 
other  atoms,  and  such  displacement  is  disorganization,  and 
other  formation  which  implies  prior  organization  and  for- 
mation ;  but  this  matter  was  without  form,  and,  therefore, 
the  susceptibility  of  motion.  As  oxygen  is  essential  to 
light,  and  as  this  is  a  chemical  formation,  it  did  not  exist 
in  the  homogeneous,  chaotic  mass.  The  Creator  must 
therefore  have  endowed  some  of  those  atoms  with  the 
quality  which  forms  the  flammable  gas  we  call  oxygen  ;  in 
fact  the  endowment  was  the  formation,  and  thereby  com- 
municated the  natural  susceptibility  of  motion  to  the 
atoms.  The  motion  of  the  atoms  of  oxygen  produced 
heat  by  the  friction  in  passing  other  atoms,  or  those  of 
themselves,  and  a  certain  rapidity  of  the  atoms  thus  mov- 
ing produced  light,  or,  by  contact  with  electricity,  ignited 
the  oxygen,  and  light  was  the  result. 

It  is  an  established  physiological  fact  that  electricity  in 
the  form  of  animal  magnetism  is  the  agent  of  the  mind, 


74  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

by  which  we  make  voluntary  motions  and  perform  intelli- 
gent action.  Reasoning  by  analogy,  so  it  is  with  all  orders 
of  mind,  especially  with  that  of  the  Creator,  who  made 
man  in  his  own  image.  It  is  not  simply  that  God  said, 
''  Let  there  be  light ;"  for  if  nothing  else  had  been  done 
no  effect  upon  senseless  matter  would  have  resulted  ;  but 
it  is  added,  "  And  the  spirit  of  God  ;;/^z'6y/ upon  the  face 
of  the  waters,  and  there  was  light."  This  mental  agent 
was  something  that  moved,  which  nothing  could  not  do. 
Here,  in  the  creation  of  the  world,  we  have  the  conditions 
of  light,  and  the  same  as  our  well-known  science  at  the 
present  day  requires  to  produce  it.  First,  the  prior  for- 
mation of  oxygen.  Second,  the  electric  motion  of  the  mind 
and  will.  Third,  atomic  friction,  the  result  of  which  is 
light.  For  the  first  three  days  the  light  was  equally  di- 
vided from  the  darkness — twelve  hours  of  light,  and  its 
absence  leaving  twelve  hours  of  darkness,  darkness  being 
the  normal  condition  of  all  matter.  But  what  was  more 
simple  than  that  the  Being  who  thus  caused  light  to  shine 
should  have  continued  it  twelve  hours  each  of  those  three 
days,  as  typic  of  the  coming  day  and  night  during  the  age 
of  the  world  ?  On  the  fourth  day  the  natural  law  for  the 
division  of  light  and  darkness  was  made,  which  was  to  be 
perpetual.  But  now  for  the  production  of  the  light  of  the 
three  days,  the  same  spirit  agency,  moved  by  the  mind  of 
the  Creator,  the  solar,  electric,  oxygenized  clouds  were 
sent  into  the  same  space  they  occupy  to-day,  forming  the 
sun ;  there  being  as  yet  no  gravity,  or  atmospheric  pres- 
sure, it  would  stand  just  where  it  was  placed :  the  starry 
planets,  each  of  which  are  magnets,  being  essential  to  the 
completion  of  the  great  law  of  universal  gravity,  were  also, 
by  the  same  power,  sent  into  their  respective  orbits.  The 
motion  of  these  on  their  axis  give  day  and  night  to  each, 
including  that  of  the  earth  ;  as  it  is  also  written,  "  By  his 
spirit  he  garnished  the  heavens,"  making  the  lights  to 
shine  in  the  vault  of  heaven. 

In  their  pride  of  opinion  the  scoffers  talk  as  though  the 
Maker  could  not  do  that  of  which  they  themselves  are 
capable,  or  of  conceiving  how  it  was  done ;  that  because 
the  lovers  of  darkness  do  not  understand  how  the  Creator 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      75 

could  light  up  the  solar  clouds  twelve  hours  out  of  twenty- 
four,  for  three  successive  days,  therefore  it  was  not  done  ; 
and  instead  of  confessing  this  ignorance,  they  use  the  more 
respectable  phrase,  ''  We  do  not  believe  it."  Let  us  ask 
them :  Have  you  not  seen  the  aurora  borealis,  popularly 
called  northern  lights,  produce  the  abnormal  illumination 
of  the  whole  hemisphere  ?  which,  without  the  direct  in- 
tervention of  the  Creator,  gives  a  good  illustration  of  the 
three  days'  light — the  direct  act  of  his.  Could  not  God 
have  thus  lighted  cloudy  lamps  to- burn  twelve  hours  of  the 
twenty-four,  as  man  can  do  on  a  small  scale  during  the 
darkness  of  the  night  ?  You  see,  we  talk  about  the  exist- 
ence of  God,  the  Creator,  just  as  we  do  about  that  of  our 
own,  as  the  one  imphes  the  other,  and  not  as  a  matter  of 
mere  belief  or  faith,  but  of  logical  knowledge,  just  as  the 
arguments  in  this  book  compels  you  to  do ;  and  the  only 
apparent  escape  from  the  duty  is  to  denounce  free-thought 
— all  thought,  all  reason,  in  which  you  pretend  to  glory, 
thus  closing  your  eyes  to  all  evidence — stand  out  the  piti- 
ful objects  of  apparent  demented  human  kind,  afraid  to 
think,  afraid  to  reason,  apprehensive  of  being  driven  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  existence  of  God  your  maker,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence your  responsibility  to  him.  It  was  in  view  of  this 
attitude  of  some  of  his  creatures  that  he  caused  it  to  be 
written,  "  The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart  there  is  no  God. ' ' 
Though  we  have  elsewhere  shown  that  the  sun  has  no 
motion  on  its  axis,  yet  we  may  remind  the  skeptics  that 
their  own  modern  astronomers  assume  and  teach  that  the 
sun  does  revolve,  as  well  as  the  whole  solar  system,  with 
all  other  systems  around  a  common  centre,  just  as  our 
planets  revolve  around  the  sun.  Hence  the  sun  might 
have  stood  still ;  though  such  a  theory  is  as  far  from  being 
astronomical  science  as  that  of  Proctor's  fiery  origin  of  the 
world  and  solar  system. 

False  Skeptical  Astronomy  Degrades  the  Earth. 

The  fact  is,  the  teachers  of  this  modern  astronomy  have 
by  their  groundless  speculations  degraded  the  grand 
science  to  the  level  of  evolution,  both  classes  of  whom 


76  ZOROASTER   A  THEIST. 

now  Claim  that  the  solar  system  came  into  existence  with- 
out the  intervention  of  God — a  creation  without  a 
Creator  !  Here  we  see  Ingersoll's  fooHsh  objection  to  the 
command  of  Joshua,  and  its  sequence,  and  which  would 
confound  him  were  he  possessed  of  the  ordinary  fear  of 
having  his  ignorance  exposed.  This  standing  still  of  the 
sun  is  considered  by  the  scoffers  as  the  most  formidable 
objection  to  the  Bible  ;  it  is  the  miracle  of  miracles,  as  the 
scoffer  with  all  his  sympathetic  adherents  have  learned  to 
repeat  like  as  many  parrots,  and  with  about  as  much  sense, 
at  least  evincing  no  more  thought  or  reason. 

The  Doctrine  of  Miracles. 

The  objection  to  the  doctrine  of  miracles  may  be 
exposed  and  their  scientific  philosophy  established  by 
numerous  syllogisms.  For  example,  a  miracle  is  a  work 
of  which  nature  is  incapable ;  nature  is  incapable  of 
causing  her  own  existence ;  therefore,  her  origin  was 
miraculous.  As  all  shades  of  skeptics  agree  in  rejecting 
the  occurrence  of  miracles  as  they  are  recorded  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  if  we  succeed  in  establishing  the  fact 
and  necessity  for  their  existence,  it  will  be  their  universal 
defeat.  We  read,  "And  the  Lord  God  created  every 
plant  of  the  field  before  it  was  in  the  ground,  and 
every  herb  of  the  field  before  it  grew."  (Gen.  2  :  4,  5.) 
"  And  God  said,  behold  !  I  have  given  you  every  herb 
bearing  seed,  and  every  tree,  in  the  which  is  the  fruit 
of  a  tree  yielding  seed;  whose  seed  is  in  itself."  (Gen. 
I  :  29.)  Here  we  have  the  miraculous  work  stated. 
First,  the  progenitors  of  each  species  were  created  be- 
fore they  were  in  the  ground — before  they  grew  ;  and 
therefore  each  was  mature  and  perfect,  or  none  would 
have  grown  if  placed  in  the  ground.  Second,  each 
had  involved  in  it  a  mechanical  department  for  the 
production  of  seed  after  their  kind,  or  they  could  not 
have  produced  subsequent  generations.  They  were  then 
planted  in  the  earth  for  this  purpose.  Each  of  these 
statements  we  find  to  be  scientific  and  philosophic 
necessities,    and  therefore  true.      Huxley    says,     ''That 


GLOBULAR  FORM  OF  THE  EARTH.      77 

during  the  whole  process  of  these  Hving,  moving  phe- 
nomena, there  is  no  point  at  which  we  can  say,  this 
is  a  natural  process  and  that  is  not  a  natural  process :  ' ' 
meaning  that  everything,  from  no  seed  to  seed,  and  to 
a  perfect  plant  involving  seed  after  its  kind,  is  the  work 
of  lifeless  nature  itself;  but  the  exact  opposite  to  the 
truth  and  everything  in  the  process  from  no  seed  to 
seed  and  the  perfect  plant  is  miraculous  work.  This  is 
demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  the  embryonical  condi- 
tions and  products  of  everything  which,  by  any  possi- 
bility can  evolve  or  be  evolved  from  another  must  have 
been  first  involved  in  it,  and  therefore  each  of  the  suc- 
cessive generations  coming  out  from,  or  evolving,  is  the 
unfolding  of  the  miracle  which  the  Creator  enfolded  in 
it.  He  not  only  made  the  mature  plant,  but  equally 
all  the  elements  and  conditions  essential  to  its  repro- 
duction— sunlight,  moisture,  soil,  etc.  This  involvement 
was  nature,  and  thus  was  plant-nature  born.  To  at- 
tribute any  of  the  work  to  it  is  as  absurd  as  to  say  the 
new-born  babe  gave  itself  birth  !  Therefore  there  is 
no  point  at  which  we  can  say  in  fact,  ''  This  is  a  natural 
process;  "  for  all  is  the  coming*  out — the  unfolding  of 
the  great  miracle  of  the  six  days'  work  of  the  great 
Creator. 

But  it  will  be  seen  that  the  miraculous  provisions 
are  limited  to  the  present  temporary  necessities  of  man- 
kind, whose  animal  existence  ends  with  the  present 
life.  But  as  the  Creator  designed  man's  re-creation,  and 
that  also  of  the  world  itself,  both  of  which  from  that 
event  are  without  end,  he  is  therefore  to  be  the  adopted 
inhabitant  of  that  world,  provided  he  meets  the  condi- 
tions demanded  by  the  Creator,  which  gives  the  essen- 
tial qualification  for  the  society  and  employment  of  that 
world. 

This  fitness  necessitates  another  class  of  miracles,  con- 
sisting of  the  provisions  for  the  accomplishment  of  that 
end.  These  miracles  are  those  which  the  Creator  has 
made  in  the  incarnation  of  himself — the  inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures  containing  the  Gospel — the  good  news, 
or  the  instruction  concerning  that  coming  life  and  world. 


yZ  ZOROASTER  A   THEIST. 

that  being  the  object  and  end  for  which  the  present 
world  w^as  created.  This  shows  the  transcendent  im- 
portance of  the  present  world  ;  and  to  set  aside  any  of 
the  miracles  of  the  temporary  world,  is  to  destroy  those 
essential  to  its  re-creation,  involving  the  objects  of  that 
work.  It  is  as  though  a  beautiful  mansion  was  to  be 
erected,  preparatory  to  which  a  temporary  workshop 
for  the  workmen  and  tools  was  first  to  be  built.  Suppose 
the  shop  occupied  part  of  the  plot  the  owner  designed 
for  the  garden  to  the  mansion,  and  when  it  was  finished 
he  should  remove  the  shop,  would  it  be  an  inconsistency  ? 
Or  suppose  the  proprietor  should  interfere  and  build  the 
shop  before  the  mansion,  assigning  as  a  reason,  it  was  to 
facilitate  this  object  ?  In  view  of  which  the  skeptics  say, 
O  no  !  you  made  that  shop,  and  if  you  destroy  it,  that 
will  show  you  had  changed  your  mind,  which,  as  God, 
you  could  not  do.  Besides,  it  would  show  you  had  not 
made  the  best  possible  mansion  at  first,  which,  as  God, 
you  must  have  done,  otherwise  it  would  show  your  ignor- 
ance by  trying  experiments  !  Behold  !  how  these  created 
things  aspire  to  wdsdom  above  their  Maker — how,  with 
their  little  conceptions -find  absurdities,  they  enslave  him? 


CHAPTER  III. 

ORIGINAL    SOIL    AN    ACT    OF    CREATION 

The  fact  is,  the  whole  phraseology,  which  attributes 
work  to  nature,  requiring  economy  and  ability,  is  a  gross 
error  without  the  least  defence.  In  the  light  of  philo- 
sophical science,  every  development  nature  manifests, 
from  the  rolling  of  the  planets  to  the  smallest  detail, 
either  of  existence  or  motion,  are  but  the  necessary  work- 
ing out  of  her  miraculous  creation — it  is  the  running  of 
the  machine.  The  original  soil  was  necessarily  a  mi- 
raculous formation,  as  it  was  composed  of  all  the  vege- 
table properties  of  every  plant  which  will  grow  therein. 
There  was  not  even  sand  or  gravel  in  existence,  as  these 
are  the  results  of  the  aqueous  wear  and  tear  of  the  rocks ; 
in  fact,  each  is  a  small  bowlder  itself;  and  only  per- 
mitted to  enter  into  the  formation  of  soil  to  as  limited  an 
extent  as  ashes  are  to  the  tree ;  and  unless  mixed  with 
a  large  amount  of  vegetable  decomposition,  soil,  capable 
of  growing  plants,  is  an  impossibihty,  and  as  yet  there 
was  not  a  vegetable  to  decompose.  Not  even  a  parti- 
cle of  moss  existed  upon  the  mineral  rocky  surface  of 
the  earth ;  for  its  seed -dust,  carried  by  the  winds  of 
heaven,  is  as  much  vegetable -decomposed  matter  as  that 
of  the  peat-bogs  of  the  earth.  Here  is  nature  with  her 
solar  system  finished  and  complete,  but  without  the  least 
ability  to  prepare  the  earth  for  plant  and  animal  life, 
not  having  the  material  of  which  its  soil  is  composed  ; 
and  if  unable  to  do  this  simpler  work,  how  could  she 
have  formed  the  planetary  system  itself?  From  this  in- 
bility  of  nature  are  we  not  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  entire  work  of  bringing  her  into  existence  is  super- 
natural, and,  therefore,  miraculous  work  ? 

Here,   then,  we    have  the  demonstration,  based  upon 


8o  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

philosophic  and  scientific  necessity,  the  fact  that  God 
made  the  soil  of  the  earth,  and  sat  therein  every  species  of 
plant  existence  which  have  ever  lived,  constructing  and 
involving  in  each  the  faculty  of  producing  and  reproduc- 
ing all  future  generations.  When  thus  endowed  and 
planted,  all  commenced  unfolding — evolving  their  won- 
derful complications,  and  to  continue  during  the  ages 
of  the  world.  Now,  at  what  particular  point  could  any 
of  these  phenomena  be  said  to  be  the  work  of  nature  ? 
''This  is  a  natural  process,"  as  Huxley  says.  He  who 
made  the  machine,  endowed  it  with  all  its  wonderful  pos- 
sibilities, leaving  not  the  most  insignificant  thing  to  be 
performed.  Instead,  therefore,  of  there  being  any  reason 
for  declaiming  against  miracles,  we  are  called  upon  by 
the  universal  voice  of  science  and  observation  to  pro- 
claim all  nature,  without  omitting  the  least  thing,  to  be 
the  unfoldment  of  the  one  vast,  complicated  miracle  of 
the  Creator  !  Take  another  illustration.  Suppose  a  lo- 
comotive engine  was  so  constructed  that  within  its  parts 
the  entire  material  and  tools  were  involved  and  arranged, 
and  in  such  a  manner  that  when  the  locomotive  was  set 
in  motion  and  doing  its  ordinary  work,  it  should  turn  out 
another  locomotive  precisely  like  itself,  and  this  again 
another,  and  so  on,  each  successor  endowed  with  the  re- 
quisite material  and  mechanism  to  thus  reproduce  its 
kind.  Now,  what  would  be  thought  of  the  mental  cali- 
bre of  the  beholder,  who  should  declare  the  first  engine 
to  be  a  work  of  art,  but  the  successors,  the  children,  to 
be  the  work  of  the  engine  itself?  Suppose  still  further, 
that  the  beholder  should  say,  Inasmuch  as  the  engines  re- 
produce each  other,  the  first  one  also  came  into  existence 
by  the  same  process  ;  or,  more  absurd  still,  if  that  can 
be,  that  there  never  was  a  first  !  Or,  while  beholding 
these  successors  thus  coming  into  existence  and  perceiv- 
ing that  each  was  superior  to  its  immediate  predecessor, 
should  declare  the  first  came  from  no  engine,  instead  of 
appreciating  the  fact  that  the  phenomena  showed  all  the 
greater  mechanical  skill  was  involved  in  the  first  locomo- 
tive— the  involvement  was  creation,  while  the  running 
and  reproduction  was  evolution. 


ORIGINAL   SOIL   AN   ACT   OF   CREATION.         8 1 

But  the  locomotive,  with  whatever  siisceptibiUties  it 
was  possessed,  was  one  of  man's  miracles,  and  it  was  a 
miracle  because  a  work  of  which  nature  was  incapable. 
The  difference  between  the  miracles  of  man  and  those  of 
his  Creator,  are  not  in  kind,  but  degree,  and  those  of  the 
Creator  are  as  superior  to  those  of  man,  as  the  Creator  is 
superior  to  the  creature.  But  the  guidance  and  culti- 
vation of  God's  miracles  in  vegetable  nature  as  much 
depend  upon  the  miracles  of  man,  as  the  perpetuity  of  his 
existence  depends  upon  food.  Let  all  men  cease  to  till 
the  soil,  and  plant  seed,  how  long  would  it  be  ere  they 
would  become  extinct  ?  Nature's  spontaneous  produc- 
tions would  not  sustain  the  life  of  the  present  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  a  single  year,  with  all  the  fowl  and  fish  of  the 
sea  which  could  be  caught  and  gathered.  Let  the  most 
beautifully  cultivated  farm,  with  its  fruit  orchards,  lie  un- 
touched by  the  hand  of  man  for  the  space  of  twenty-five 
years,  would  it  not  degenerate  to  a  mere  patch  of  weeds, 
thistles,  thorns,  briers  and  wild-wood  ?  This  also  shows, 
that  the  work  of  nature  is  not  improved  development, 
but  the  most  rapid  degeneracy,  even  to  the  extinguish- 
ment of  man  himself,  most  completely  reversing  the 
absurd  theory  of  evolution.  Thus  has  God  interwoven 
his  miracles  of  nature,  and  of  which  man  himself  forms 
the  most  distinguishing  part ;  with  those  of  art  the  man 
is  able  to  perform,  making  his  existence  and  the  Creator's 
purposes  dependent  upon  each  other. 

Is  Ingersoll  an  Atheist? 

In  regard  to  the  existence  of  God,  and  the  effects  for 
evil  his  opinions  and  sophisms  produce  upon  mankind, 
the  arch-scoffer  is  so  expHcit  in  his  lecture  on  the  gods, 
that  misunderstanding  upon  the  question  seems  impossible. 
Says  he,  ''If  by  any  possibility  it  is  demonstrated  that 
there  is  a  Being  above  us,  it  will  be  time  enough  for  us  to 
kneel ;  until  then,  let  us  stand  upright.  He  is  equally  clear 
upon  the  existence  of  any  authoritative  religion.  Hear 
him  :  ''  There  is  an  irrepressible  conflict  between  religion 
and  science,  and  they  cannot  peaceably  occupy  the  same 


82  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

brain,  nor  the  same  world."  True  science  could  no 
more  dwell  in  peace  in  his  brain,  than  can  true  religion. 
It  is  the  Godless,  foolish  thing  called  evolution  his  dis- 
cordant brain  accepts  for  science  and  against  which  he 
wages  no  war.  That  there  is  a  Being  above  us,  we  have 
demonstrated  by  forty  syllogisms  ;  consequently  the  time 
has  come  for  the  arch-scoffer  to  kneel — it  may  be  he  may 
find  mercy  at  the  hand  of  him  he  has  so  slandered.  Do 
this,  Mr.  IngersoU,  and  devote  the  remainder  of  your  life 
in  earnest  effort  to  neutralize  the  deadly  poison  you  have 
infused  into  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  young  men  of  our 
country.  But  if  you  attempt  to  treat  these  arguments, 
not  one  of  which  are  you  able  to  answer  with  your 
weapons  of  flippant  speech  and  ridiculous  representation, 
as  you  do  the  Bible,  your  public  and  private  efforts  will 
be  laughed  to  scorn,  as  the  mere  verbiage  of  an  errant 
braggart.  And  while  we  are  dealing  with  you  personally, 
we  would  say  that  we  dare  you  to  meet  us  in  public  dis- 
cussion, or  through  the  press. 

The  Scoffer's  Specious  Sympathy  for  the  Dehcded. 

Says  he  :  ''While  utterly  discarding  all  creeds,  and 
denying  the  truth  of  all  religions,  there  is  neither  in  my 
heart,  nor  upon  my  lips  a  sneer  for  the  hopeful,  loving, 
and  tender  souls  who  believe  that  from  all  this  discord 
will  result  a  perfect  harmony  ;  that  every  evil  will  in  some 
mysterious  way  become  a  good.  [It  will  be  a  very  mysteri- 
ous metamorphosis,  to  make  an  evil  a  good — make  eternal 
opposites,  harmony  ;  it  is,  however,  the  only  process  which 
offers  him  and  his  deluded  followers  the  least  hope  for  the 
harvest  of  tares  they  are  sowing  in  vain — hope  that  tares 
will  become  wheat — a  miracle  which  neither  God  nor  man 
are  capable  of  performing.  It  is  impossible  for  God  to 
lie.]  And  that  above  and  over  all,  there  is  a  Being  who 
in  some  way,  will  reclaim  and  glorify  everyone  of  the  chil- 
dren of  men  ;  but  for  those  who  heartlessly  try  to  prove  that 
salvation  is  almost  impossible,  and  damnation  almost  cer- 
tain ;  that  the  highway  of  the  universe  leads  to  hell ; 
who  fill  life  with  fear,  and  death  with  horror ;  who  curse 


ORIGINAL   SOIL   AN   ACT   OF   CREATION.        83 

the  cradle  and  mock  the  tomb,  it  is  impossible  to  enter- 
tain other  than  feelings  of  pity,  contempt,  and  scorn." 
That  this  talk  about  a  Being  above  and  over  all,  who 
may  reclaim  and  glorify  everyone  of  the  children  of 
men,  is  wholly  heartless,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  through 
his  whole  lecture  he  ridicules  the  very  idea  of  the  exist- 
ence of  such  a  Being.  If  his  existence  is  admitted,  it  is 
only  to  compare  him  with  the  devil,  giving  the  latter 
superior  virtue  and  intelligence;  and  while  thus  presum- 
ing upon  the  simplicity  of  his  hearers,  tells  them  there 
may  be  a  God,  and  such  a  good  God,  that  he  will  never 
hurt  even  such  an  implacable  enemy  as  this  scoffer ;  and 
yet  there  is  no  God.  He  encourages  all  to  hope  for 
glorification  at  the  hands  of  the  Being  above  us,  and  yet 
there  is  no  such  Being.  But  of  what  avail  are  any  of  his 
sayings,  or  of  what  worth  are  his  shallow  religious 
opinions  ?  Christ  tells  us  of  the  broad  way  that  leads  to 
death,  and  many  there  be  that  walk  therein  ;  they  choose 
the  way  regardless  of  his  admonition,  "Why  will  ye 
die  ?  "  "  While  straight  is  the  gate  and  narrow  is  the  way 
that  leads  to  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  This  is 
the  Being  who  declares  damnation  general,  and  salvation 
so  difficult  that  "  few  there  be  that  find  it."  It  is  Christ, 
therefore,  who  has  the  "  scorn  of  the  scoffer's  heart.  This 
is  not  as  Christ  would  have  it,  but  who  declares  the  fact 
as  it  is,  and  which  is  confirmed  by  common  observation. 
The  many  refuse  the  conditions  upon  which  life  is  offered, 
and  choose  death  as  a  consequence.  The  probable  reason 
why  the  scoffer  denounces  those  who  warn  the  people 
against  taking  his  advice,  as  walking  in  the  broad  way,  is 
because  it  makes  his  career  in  slandering  God,  and  the 
Bible,  for  money,  a  poor  speculation.  Let  us  inquire  what 
has  been  the  character  of  the  two  hundred  generations  of 
mankind,  including  the  present,  in  relation  to  a  fitness 
for  future  glorification.  If  there  be  no  Being  to  glorify 
them,  they  must  glorify  themselves,  but  how  many  among 
the  masses  evince  any  such  disposition  in  the  present  life, 
and  what  hope  have  they  for  fiiture  glorification?  If 
mankind  were  tested  by  their  own  acknowledged  stand- 
ard of  virtue  and  unselfish   benevolence,  and  hell  and 


^4  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

heaven  awarded  each  class,  which  would  be  the  most 
crowded  ?  Besides,  the  atheists  believe  death  to  be  eter- 
nal sleep,  among  whom  our  scoffing  hero,  in  opaque 
mendacity,  is  most  conspicuous.  ''  He  has  no  sneer  for 
any  but  those  who  believe  the  words  of  Christ  ;  ' '  but  of 
what  consequence  are  his  foolish  sneers?  only  as  the  ex- 
pression (SNEER)  conveys  a  true  idea  of  the  composition 
of  his  public  lectures,  instead  of  argument.  For  our  part 
we  would  prefer  his  '' sneers"  to  words  of  praise,  as  in 
such  a  case  there  would  be  no  fear  of  identification  with 
him  or  his  cause.  Said  a  very  high  authority,  ' '  Woe  unto 
you  when  all  men  speak  well  of  you." 

The  multitudes  who  rebel  against  their  Maker,  neces- 
sitates the  highway  that  leads  to  death  and  hell.  It  is 
the  hatred  of  God  and  his  holiness  that  characterizes  the 
throng  and  fills  the  broad  way  with  travellers.  It  is  the 
effect  of  atheistic  sneers  which  fill  life  with  fear,  and  death 
with  horror  !  The  work  of  the  scoffer  is  to  relieve  the 
life  of  the  wicked  of  these  fears,  by  cruelly  telling  them 
there  is  no  God  to  fear  ;  they  may  commit  all  the  damn- 
ing deeds  their  nature  prompts,  and  have  "  no  fear  of 
God  before  their  eyes,"  and  no  horrors  in  their  death.  It 
is  Ingersoll  and  his  scoffing  fellows  who  fit  men  for  dam- 
nation. How  can  men  who  join  the  tirade  against  their 
Maker  expect  any  other  death  or  resurrection  than  that 
written  in  the  book  of  truth:  that  of  shame,  contempt, 
and  horror  ?  In  the  very  nature  of  things  they  must  reap 
the  harvest  they  have  sown,  which,  by  giving  heed  to  the 
arch-scoffer,  can  only  be  described  by  the  terrible  word, 
"damnation,"  the  meaning  of  which  they  will  not  re- 
alize until  the  judgment  at  the  last  day.  Christ  said, 
''  Marvel  not  at  this,  for  the  hour  is  coming  in  the  which 
all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son 
of  God,  and  shall  come  forth,  they  that  have  done  good, 
unto  the  resurrection  of  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil, 
unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation."      (John  5  :  28,  29.) 


ORIGINAL   SOIL   AN   ACT   OF   CREATION.        85 


The  Seed  and  Harvest  of  Ingei'solHsm. 

The  seed  the  scoffer  and  his  confederates  are  sowing, 
which  induce  men  to  turn  against  their  Maker,  dishonoring 
and  tramphng  upon  his  laws,  on  the  pretentious  ground 
that  there  is  no  God,  put  themselves  in  a  position  where- 
in they  are  held  in  contempt  by  all  good  men,  and  their 
notoriety  is  simply  that  of  infamy ;  but  how  will  the 
shame  and  contempt  be  increased  when  they  come  to 
reap  the  harvest  they  have  sown,  at  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ,  with  whom  all  will  be  confronted  in  person,  and 
when  such  as  he  will  be  surrounded  by  the  victims  of  his 
scoffing  blasphemy  ?  Such  a  career  comprehends  all  the 
elements  of  contempt.  If  Ingersoll  is  honest,  and  does  not 
know  there  is  a  God,  then  he  merits  the  contempt  of  ig- 
norance, heightened  by  surroundings  of  the  most  favor- 
able opportunities  to  obtain  such  knowledge.  If  he  knows 
there  is  a  God,  the  proprietor  of  his  being,  and  yet  tries 
to  induce  others  to  ignore  the  restraint  of  his  laws  and 
refuse  obedience  to  his  righteous  claims,  then  he  adds  to 
the  contempt  the  arrogance  of  the  thing  that  is  made, 
warring  against  the  Maker,  of  course,  with  the  certainty 
of  defeat.  If  the  power,  goodness,  and  loveliness  of  God, 
and  the  fear  of  threatened  punishment  fails  now  to  subdue 
such  a  rebel  spirit,  and  reclaim  him  to  loving  obedience, 
will  God  ever  be  more  just,  merciful,  powerful,  loving, 
and  good? — or  will  he  change  his  purposes  to  suit  his 
implacable  enemies?  When  thus  confronted,  will  God 
acknowledge  to  such  sinners  that  he  had  exaggerated  the 
damnation  in  order  to  frighten  them  into  obedience  ? 
Such  conceptions  evince  mere  childish  thoughts  and  esti- 
mates of  the  character  of  God,  right  and  wrong,  justice 
and  injustice,  rewards  and  punishment.  The  scoffer  says  : 
''  This  horror  of  damnation  curses  the  cradle  and  mocks 
the  tomb."  As  to  mocking  the  tomb,  it  is  a  fancy  ex- 
pression without  meaning,  and  about  the  cradle  being 
horrified,  supposes  the  infants  who  lie  therein  are  able 
to  understand  about  damnation,  and  become  horrified  at 
the  contemplation — wonderful  sagacity  !      No  !      It  is  the 


S6  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

ignorant,  laughing  sayings  of  the  scoffer,  covered  with 
his  own  chosen  contempt,  who  fills  the  grave  with  horror 
by  making  it  the  bed  of  eternal  sleep,  and  from  which 
none  but  Christ,  ''  the  resurrection  and  the  life,"  can  de- 
liver him,  and  not  he  unless  the  scoffer  repents,  loves, 
and  obeys  his  God  and  Creator.  To  glorify  him  upon 
any  other  condition  would  make  Christ  a  liar,  and  im- 
plicate him  with  conniving  at  all  the  wrong  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  be  willing  to  live  in  the  eternal  company  of 
his  bitter  enemies — in  perpetual  warfare. 

Christian  Religious  System  tJie  Highest  Social  Standard. 

Ingersoll  says  :  ''We  are  laying  the  foundation  of  the 
grand  temple  of  the  future — not  the  temple  of  the  gods, 
but  of  all  the  people — wherein,  with  appropriate  rites, 
will  be  celebrated  the  religion  of  humanity.  We  are  do- 
ing what  we  can  to  hasten  the  coming  of  the  day  when 
society  will  cease  producing  millionaires  and  mendicants 
— gorged  indolence  and  famished  industry,  truth  in  rags, 
and  superstition  crowned.  We  are  looking  for  the  time 
when  the  useful  shall  be  the  honorable,  and  when  reason, 
enthroned  upon  the  world's  brain,  shall  be  the  king  of 
kings,  and  god  of  gods."  These  are  the  sentiments  of 
the  Anarchists,  which,  since  Ingersoll' s  career,  the  chief 
Anarch,  has  grown  rampant  in  this  country.  The  scho- 
lastic skepticism  of  Germany  and  France,  emanating  from 
the  Leipsic  University,  and  the  French  Academy,  for  the 
last  half  century,  have  developed  the  Nihilism  of  Europe 
— the  assassms  of  statesmen  and  kings,  as  impediments  in 
their  way  of  stealing  the  property  of  the  wealthy,  and  to 
live  in  gorged  indolence,  which,  if  realized  to  the  degree 
Ingersoll  here  depicts,  will  render  human  society  an  im- 
l)ossibility.  It  is  seen  by  such  men  as  he  and  the  late 
Charles  Bradlaugh,  that  men  to  any  great  extent  cannot  be 
induced  to  commit  such  crime  who  believe  in  the  exist- 
ence of  God  and  future  punishment ;  hence  their  hatred 
of  hell,  and  atheistic  warfare  against  God  and  church  so- 
ciety. 

At  the  head  of  this  gigantic  scheme  Ingersoll,  in  this 


ORIGINAL   SOIL  AN   ACT   OF    CREATION.         87 

country,  arms  himself  with  an  iconoclastic  club  and  goes 
forth  to  kill  all  the  gods,  and  yet  he  has  not  advanced 
far  enough  to  distinguish  between  the  living  and  dead 
gods.  Indeed,  he  only  discovers  enough  of  the  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  God  to  madden  him  into  the  furore  of 
a  pitched  battle  with  w^iatever  of  a  living  God  there  may 
be.  When  the  chief  Anarchist  is  dead,  those  who  come 
after  are  to  build  on  his  foundation  the  "  religion  of  hu- 
manity " — a  kind,  humane  religion,  one  for  the  poor  and 
oppressed. 

Ingersoll  says:  "To  read  the  Bible  is  to  reject  it," 
and  yet  he  is  so  ignorant  of  it  that  he  thinks  he  has  dis- 
covered an  improved  religion,  while  that  revealed  in  the 
Bible  is  so  absolutely  perfect  and  adapted  to  exalt  man 
physically,  morally,  mentally,  and  religiously,  and  there- 
fore to  the  highest  standard  of  social  citizenship,  that  it 
becomes  simply  absurd  to  attempt  its  improvement.  For 
the  enlightenment  of  those  upon  whose  ignorance  the 
scoffer  thus  presumes,  we  will  transcribe  enough  of  it  to 
vindicate  our  position  as  to  the  nature  of  its  religion. 
The  first  passage  we  introduce  defines  the  religion  by  the 
nature  of  the  duties  it  enjoins,  thus  :  "  Pure  religion  and 
undefiled  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this.  To  visit  the 
fatherless  and  the  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  keep 
himself  unspotted  from  the  world."  (James  i  :  27.)  Is 
there  any  higher  regard  for  humanity  than  this  ?  The 
following  shows  in  what  esteem  the  poor  are  held  by  this 
religion,  and  that  no  preference  is  to  be  shown  to  robed 
and  decorated  superstition  and  millionaires  :  "  My  breth- 
ren have  not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord 
of  glory,  with  respect  of  persons  ;  for  if  there  come  into 
your  assembly  a  man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  goodly  apparel, 
and  there  come  in  also  a  poor  man,  in  vile  raiment,  and 
ye  have  respect  unto  him  that  weareth  the  gay  clothing, 
and  say  unto  him,  sit  thou  here  in  a  good  place,  and  say 
unto  the  poor,  stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here  under  my 
foot-stool,  are  ye  not  partial  in  yourselves,  and  are  be- 
come judges  of  evil  thoughts?  Hearken,  my  beloved 
brethren  :  hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world 
rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  he  hath 


88  ZOROASTER  A   THEIST. 

promised  to  them  that  love  him  ?  But  ye  have  despised 
the  poor.  Do  not  rich  men  oppress  you,  and  draw  you 
before  the  judgment  seats  ?  Do  they  not  blaspheme  that 
worthy  name  by  which  ye  are  called  ?  If  ye  fulfil  the 
royal  law  according  to  the  Scriptures,  thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,  ye  do  well,  but  if  ye  have  respect  to 
persons,  ye  commit  sin,  and  are  convinced  of  the  law  as 
transgressors."  (James  2  :  5-9.)  It  is  also  the  religion 
of  mercy  for  the  oppressed  :  "For  he  shall  have  judg- 
ment without  mercy,  that  hath  showed  no  mercy." 

It  is  the  religion  of  works  as  well  as  faith,  neither  of 
which  can  take  the  place  of  the  other ;  one  practices  un- 
selfishness and  is  kept  poor  by  the  sacrifices  it  makes  for 
the  poor  and  needy,  in  hope  of  the  promised  riches  of  end- 
less being  in  an  endless  world,  and  faith  in  its  fulfilment 
makes  its  possessors  happy  in  the  present  world  of  pover- 
ty. "  What  doth  it  profit  a  man,  my  brethren,  though 
a  man  hath  faith,  and  hath  not  works?  can  faith  save 
him?  If  a  brother  or  a  sister  be  naked,  and  destitute  of 
food,  and  one  of  you  say  unto  them,  depart  in  peace,  be 
ye  warmed  and  filled,  notwithstanding  ye  give  them  not 
those  things  needful  to  the  body  ;  what  doth  it  profit  ? 
Even  so  faith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  is  dead,  being  alone. 
Yea  !  a  man  may  say,  thou  hast  faith,  and  I  have  works  ; 
show  me  thy  faith  without  thy  works,  and  I  will  show 
thee  my  faith  by  my  works.  Thou  believest  that  there- 
is  one  God  ;  thou  doest  well ;  the  devils  also  believe  and 
tremble."  (James  2.)  As  Ingersoll  does  not  know  or 
believe  in  one  God,  he  is  not  as  worthy,  in  the  estimation 
of  God,  as  a  devil  ! 

//  is  the  Religion  of  Principle — Reason — Motive. 

Here  is  a  religion  of  equality,  especially  adapted  for 
the  protection  and  comfort  of  the  poor,  whose  laws  com- 
mand those  who  have  the  means  to  supply  the  want  of 
the  poor.  Its  founder  said:  ''Give  to  him  that  asketh 
thee,  and  from  him  that  would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not 
thou  away."  (Matt.  5  :  42.)  ''  Thou  shalt  not  harden 
thine  heart,  nor  shut  thine  hand  from  thy  poor  brother; 


ORIGINAL   SOIL   AN   ACT   OF   CREATION.         89 

but  shalt  open  it  wide  unto  him,  and  shalt  surely  lend  him 
sufficient  for  his  need.  And  thine  heart  shall  not  be 
grieved  when  thou  givest  unto  him."      (Deut.  15  :  7-10.) 

It  is  a  rational  religion  because  it  recognizes  an  authori- 
ty higher  than  its  subjects,  who  made  the  laws  and  of 
right  imposed  the  obligations,  without  which  there  can 
be  no  religion,  as  religion  implies  worship,  and  worship 
implies  the  recognition  and  belief  in  a  God  of  some 
form.  In  order  to  show  the  spirit  and  motives  which 
prompt  these  acts  of  kindness,  benevolence,  and  mercy, 
we  have  such  instruction  as  the  following  :  ' '  Hereby  per- 
ceive we  the  love  of  God,  because  he  laid  down  his  life 
for  us ;  and  we  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  breth- 
ren." ''  But  whoso  hath  this  world's  goods,  and  seeth 
his  brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  his  bowels  of  compas- 
sion from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him  ?  " 
'^  My  little  children,  let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither  in 
tongue;  [merely]  but  in  deed  and  in  truth."  (i  John 
3  :  16-18.)  "Let  brotherly  love  continue."  ''  Be  not 
forgetful  to  entertain  strangers."  ''  Remember  them  that 
are  in  bonds  as  bound  with  them  and  them  that  suffer 
adversity."  "Let  your  conversation  be  without  covet- 
ousness ;  and  be  content  with  such  things  as  ye  have ; 
for  he  hath  said  I  will  never  leave  nor  forsake  thee." 
(Heb.  13.)  "  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  on  his  disciples, 
and  said.  Blessed  be  ye  poor  ;  for  your's  is  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."  (Luke  6:  20.)  "And  he  said  unto  him, 
When  thou  makest  a  dinner  or  a  supper,  call  not  thy 
friends,  nor  thy  brethren,  neither  thy  kinsmen,  nor  thy 
rich  neighbors  ;  lest  they  also  bid  thee  again,  and  a  re- 
compense be  made  thee  ;  but  when  thou  makest  a  feast, 
call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind  ;  and 
thou  shalt  be  blessed  ;  for  they  cannot  recompense  thee ; 
but  thou  shalt  be  recompensed  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
just."  (Luke  14  :  12-16.)  "  Therefore  all  things  whatso- 
ever ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even 
so  unto  them  ;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets." 
(This  doctrine  is  not  new,  but  is  taught  both  in  the  law 
and  in  the  prophets.) 

"Enter   ye   in   at  the   strait   gate;    for   wide   is   the 


go  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

gate,  and  broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth  unto  destruction, 
and  many  there  be  which  go  in  thereat ;  because  strait 
is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way,  which  leadeth  unto 
Hfe,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  (Matt.  7  :  12-14.) 
Here  is  a  reciprocal  system  of  religious  laws  and  rules 
which,  if  obeyed  by  a  community  or  state,  would  be 
a  perfect  society,  and  impossible  of  improvement.  To 
leave  out  the  religious  element  would  destroy  the  system 
by  taking  away  the  motive  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties, 
as  they  are  to  be  done  by  the  able  to  the  unable.  ' '  They 
cannot  recompense  thee,  but  thou  shalt  be  recompensed  at 
the  resurrection  of  the  just."  This  principle  recognizes 
the  most  complete  mental,  moral,  religious,  and  physical 
law,  written  alike  in  the  constitution  of  man  and  his  ex- 
ternal necessities,  which  is  that  he  cannot  act  without 
motive,  and  that  motive  must  propose  immediate  or  re- 
mote happiness  as  compensation  for  the  present  sacrifice. 
God  himself  acts  upon  this  principle  in  everything  he 
has  done  or  proposes  to  do  for  mankind  ;  all  is  conducive 
to  his  own  eventual  glory.  Paul  says  of  Christ :  "  Who 
for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross  and 
despised  the  shame,"  etc.  The  fact  that  atheists  cannot 
act  upon  this  principle,  accounts  for  the  other  fact  that 
they  stand  aloof  from  all  benevolent  societies  or  philan- 
thropic enterprises  for  the  assistance  and  comfort  of  the 
poor.  There  is  not  a  paragraph  in  the  Scriptures  which, 
in  the  least,  lowers  this  high  reciprocal  standard  of  hu- 
man obligation  !  Atheists  put  themselves  in  the  incon- 
gruous position  of  denouncing  the  Bible  and  its  author, 
simply  because  men  profess  belief  in  both,  and  yet  do  not 
obey  its  principles  ;  as  though  a  principle  was  bad,  be- 
cause men  do  not  like,  or  obey  it. 

Hoiv  the  Christian  Religion  Views  Oppi'essors  of  the  Poor. 

Tet  us  hear  some  of  the  Lord's  complaints  against  mill- 
ionaires, and  the  oppressive  monopolies  of  the  poor,  and 
their  coming  doom  :  ''Go  to,  now,  ye  rich  men ;  weep 
and  howl  for  the  miseries  that  shall  come  upon  you. 
Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments  are  moth- 


ORIGINAL   SOIL   AN   ACT  OF   CREATION.        91 

eaten.  Your  gold  and  silver  are  cankered  ;  and  the  rust 
of  them  shall  be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat  your 
flesh  as  it  were  fire.  Ye  have  heaped  treasure  together 
for  the  last  days.  Behold,  the  hire  of  the  laborers  who 
have  reaped  down  your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept  back 
by  fraud,  crieth  :  and  the  cries  of  them  have  entered  into 
the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.  Ye  have  lived  in  pleas- 
ure on  the  earth,  and  been  wanton ;  ye  have  nourished 
your  hearts,  as  in  the  day  of  slaughter.  Ye  have  con- 
demned and  killed  the  just  [by  your  combines,  have 
starved  them]  ;  and  he  doth  not  resist  you.  Be  patient, 
therefore,  brethren,  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord." 
(James  5  :  1-7.)  This  system  of  rehgious  doctrine  did 
not  teach  the  unphilosophic  notion  of  Ingersoll  that  there 
is  coming  a  time  when  there  will  be  no  rich  and  no  poor 
— in  other  words,  when  there  will  be  no  selfish,  avaricious 
and  oppressive  men — a  perfect  equality — but  he  did  not 
teach  the  poor  to  assassinate  the  rich,  and  oppress  and  rob 
him  ;  but  refers  his  suffering  brethren  to  the  coming  of  the 
Lord,  at  the  last  day,  when  he  will  meet  out  retributive 
justice  to  all,  whether  they  had  been  poor  murderers  and 
thieves,  or  selfish,  rich  oppressors  of  the  poor.  The  hope 
that  the  religion  of  the  Bible  holds  out  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  Christians,  when  such  a  state  of  things  exists,  is 
the  coming  of  their  Lord  to  put  them  in  possession  of  an 
endless  kingdom — a  government  of  universal  righteous- 
ness in  the  new  world  he  is  then  to  create  from  the  dis- 
solved elements  of  the  present  world.  But  Ingersoll,  in 
his  profound  ignorance  of  this  most  prominent  Script- 
ure doctrine,  becomes  a  false  prophet,  and  tells  us  that 
this  same  selfish,  opi)ressive  human  nature  is  going  to 
work  a  most  wonderfid  miracle  for  its  own  destruction, 
converting  themselves  (its  victims)  into  the  highest  type 
of  the  religion  of  the  Bible — obedience  to  its  two  great 
principles  :  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself;"  but  no  philoso- 
phy, or  any  other  religion,  ever  changed  the  heart  or 
character  of  a  rich  oppressor  of  the  poor  into  such  a 
model  of  unselfish  righteousness  without  being  induced 
by  the  promise  of  future  reward,  yet  the  atheistic  relig- 


92  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

ion  of  humanity,  built  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  is  going  to  do  it.     Wonderful  credulity  ! 

Christ  said,  ''Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures 
upon  earth,  where  moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where 
thieves  break  through  and  steal ;  for  where  your  treasure 
is  there  will  your  heart  be  also."  As  an  example  of  this 
love  of  riches,  if  possessed,  and  of  the  disposition  Christ 
taught  should  be  made  of  it,  w^e  have  the  following  : 
"  Behold,  one  came  and  said  unto  him.  Good  Mas- 
ter, what  good  thing  shall  I  do,  that  I  may  have  eter- 
nal life?  And  he  said.  If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life, 
keep  the  commandments.  He  said,  Which?  And  Jesus 
said.  Thou  shalt  do  no  murder.  Thou  shalt  not  com- 
mit adultery.  Thou  shalt  not  steal.  Thou  shalt  not 
bear  false  witness.  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother ; 
and  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself  The  young 
man  said.  All  these  have  I  kept  from  my  youth ;  what 
lack  I  yet  ?  Jesus  said  unto  him.  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect, 
go  and  sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou 
shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven  [the  new  heaven]  :  and 
come  and  follow  me.  But  when  the  young  man  heard 
that  saying,  he  went  away  sorrowful ;  for  he  had  great 
possessions.  Then  said  Jesus  unto  his  disciples.  Verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  that  a  rich  man  shall  hardly  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  again  I  say  unto  you,  It 
is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle, 
than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 
(Matt.  19  :  16-24.) 

Who  cannot  see  that  if  these  laws  of  Christ  were 
obeyed,  it  would  develop  the  most  perfect  human  society 
— ^just,  loving,  pure,  sympathetic,  benevolent,  unproscrip- 
tive  in  feeling  and  motive,  always  actuated  to  please  and 
honor  their  Creator,  and  by  faith  in  his  word  of  promise, 
look  for  the  possession  of  the  endless  world,  through  the 
resurrection  at  the  last  day,  for  their  reward.  As  there 
cannot  be  a  higher  religion  than  this,  that  which  Ingersoll 
calls  the  ''religion  of  humanity"  must  be  a  lower  one, 
which  is  but  one  of  its  principles;  the  attempt,  therefore, 
is,  to  destroy  a  whole  religious  system  by  the  substitution 
of  one  of  its  elements.     He  says,  "  This  chimerical  re- 


ORIGINAL   SOIL   AN   ACT  OF   CREATION.         93 

ligion  is  not  that  of  reason,  but  an  appeal  to  superstition 
and  credulity."  What  are  the  facts,  supposing  these  to 
be  two  religions  ?  which  is  no  more  so  than  a  single 
element  of  a  system,  is  another  system.  Both  have  to 
deal  with  the  same  human  nature — man  as  he  is.  Some 
of  man's  natural  characteristics  are  :  First,  a  disposi- 
tion to  be  rich.  Second,  a  desire  for  self-gratification. 
Third,  a  disposition  to  live  without  labor,  such  as  per- 
sonally tilhng  the  soil,  manufacturing  the  implements  or 
clothing  for  those  who  do  the  work ;  hence,  each  is  striv- 
ing to  live  on  the  labor  of  another.  Fourth,  it  is  as 
natural  for  man  to  demand  compensation  for  his  labor 
as  it  is  to  be  able  to  act  from  motive  ;  and  Fifth,  man 
cannot  perform  the  least  voluntary  act  without  faith, 
which  is  some  confidence  of  success,  or  without  hope  of 
accomplishing  that  which  will  be  for  his  interest  in  the 
present  or  future,  and  which  will,  in  some  measure,  and 
at  some  time,  be  conducive  to  his  happiness.  Sixth,  it 
is  a  fact  of  common  observation,  that  hope  of  reward,  and 
fear  of  punishment,  which  fear  may  consist  of  loss,  are 
the  strongest  motives  to  induce  human  action,  and  such 
motives,  relating  to  future  reward  or  punishment,  are  im- 
possibihties  in  the  absence  of  faith,  hope,  or  a  natural, 
or  written  law,  offering  reward  and  threatening  punish- 
ment. Seventh,  it  is  a  fact  that  no  rational  man  has 
ever  found  in  the  resources  hi  the  present  world  that 
condition  of  things  which  has  freed  him  from  apprehen- 
sion of  coming  evil,  and,  therefore,  that  which  has  made 
him  permanently  happy.  Eighth,  it  is  a  fact  that  human 
society  cannot  exist  without  civil  law,  or  that  such  law 
can  equalize  the  sources  of  happiness  among  men  ;  there 
must,  therefore,  be  a  higher  law,  with  provisions,  and  re- 
vealing them  to  meet  these  necessities  of  his  higher  nat- 
ure. Ninth,  as  man  is  an  imitative  being,  he  must  be- 
come like  those  with  whom  he  associates  or  communes. 
As  a  consequence,  he  cannot  rise  higher  in  the  scale  of 
intellectual  or  moral  worth,  but  under  the  conviction  that 
there  is  a  Being  above  him  of  greater  virtue,  wisdom,  and 
power  than  himself;  and  this  compels  atheists  to  go 
downward. 


94  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 


Revealed  Religion  founded  upon  a  Philosophic  Basis. 

Founded  upon  these  facts  and  principles  of  nature,  man 
being  its  chiefest  work,  is  the  philosophy  as  well  as  the 
highest  science  of  revealed  religion  ;  not  an  element  of 
which  can  be  left  out,  without  weakening  the  motives  for 
the  elevation  of  man,  as  an  intellectual,  moral,  social,  and 
religious  being  ;  and  he  is  no  more  one  of  these  than  he 
is  every  other.  It  is  within  the  structure  and  functions 
of  these  fundamental  truths  that  the  enthronement  of 
reason  is  to  be  found,  not  a  substitute  for  God,  but  an 
emanation  of  his  ordained  and  revealed  plan  for  the  crea- 
tion and  re-creation  of  man  as  an  inhabitant  of  his  eter- 
nal world.  In  view  of  which  we  have  such  instructions 
as  the  following :  "  I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  by 
the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living 
sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  your 
reasonable  sQVYicQ.  ''  (Rom.  12:  i.)  "  Be  ready  always 
to  give  an  answer  to  every  man  that  asketh  you  a  reason 
of  the  hope  that  is  in  you  with  meekness  and  fear."  (i 
Pet.  3:  15.)  ''Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together, 
saith  the  Lord  :  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall 
be  white  as  snow ;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they 
shall  be  as  wool."  (Isa.  i  :  18.)  Thus  does  God  appeal 
to  man  as  a  reasoning  being,  and  asking  him  whether 
the  service  he  demands  is  not  that  of  reason? 

Ingersoll  says,  ''We  are  looking  for  the  time  when 
reason,  enthroned  upon  the  world's  brain,  shall  be  king 
of  kings,  and  god  of  gods."  Here  is  the  absurd  notion 
that  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  the  source  of  all 
created  things  and  beings,  who  endowed  men  with  reas- 
oning faculties,  is  to  be  superseded ;  the  faculties  are  to 
rise  up  and  unseat  the  God  that  made  them,  and  the  ab- 
stract things  enthrone  themselves.  This  is  about  as  good 
logic  and  reason  as  that  sung  by  a  socialistic  club  to  a 
golden  calf,  as  a  god.  "  These  be  thy  gods,  O  Israel,  that 
brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt !  "  Is  it  reason 
that  if  a  religion  with  God  the  Creator  as  its  author, 
fails  to  convert  men  to  its  practice  and  spirit,  and  induce 


ORIGINAL   SOIL   AN   ACT   OF   CREATION.         95 

loyal  obedience  to  its  laws  :  that  one  can  succeed  which 
has  no  God  to  say,  "  Ye  shall,  and  ye  shall  not  " — "  Do 
this  and  hve  " — do  that  and  die  !  Or  which  will  be  the 
most  likely  to  induce  obedience,  one  which  offers  endless 
life  in  an  endless  world,  or  one  which  threatens  eternal 
annihilation  at  death  ?  We  are  not  entirely  without  ex- 
amples of  what  this  godless  religion  develops.  There 
stands  the  ever  memorable  and  ever  fearful  French  Revo- 
lution— the  proceedings  of  the  Court  of  St.  Cloud  !  There 
stands  the  ''reign  of  terror,"  to  warn  the  world  against  the 
repetition  of  the  experiment  of  such  a  religion — the  (so 
called)  "  enthronement  of  reason."  Is  it  reason  to  claim 
that  men  will  be  more  unselfish  and  sacrifice  their  own 
interests  for  the  good  of  others,  without  law,  which  they 
will  not  do  with  it  ?  Is  it  reason  that  men  would  be 
more  restrained  from  the  perpetration  of  evil  deeds  and 
sins  against  society,  if  they  believed  there  was  no  God  to 
call  them  to  account  at  a  coming  judgment,  than  though 
they  did  believe  this  ?  Is  it  not  more  unreasonable  and 
superstitious  to  believe  that  mankind,  as  well  as  the  world 
itself,  came  into  existence  without  the  hand  of  a  Creator, 
than  with  it  ? 

If  the  greatness  and  severity  of  God  as  revealed  in  nat- 
ural laws,  of  which  he  is  the  author,  executing  themselves 
and  inexorably  punishing  every  offender,  and  for  every 
offence,  fails  to  make  atheists,  such  as  Ingersoll,  afraid, 
how  can  we  expect  the  obliteration  of  all  this  to  succeed  ? 
But  the  scoffer  says,  "  I  don't  believe  in  the  existence  of 
any  God."  Well,  we  do  not  respect  what  a  man  says 
who  has  no  respect  for  what  he  says  himself,  or  what  he 
says  he  believes  or  disbelieves :  it  is  not  worth  the  breath 
spent  in  repeating  it ;  and  did  he  not  sophistically  at- 
tempt to  make  a  show  of  argument  in  its  defence,  well 
calculated  to  deceive  the  superficial,  we  would  not  at- 
tempt a  line  of  exposure ;  but  that  he  may  know  there  is 
a  God  who  created  the  world  and  inspired  the  Scriptures, 
we  refer  him  to  the  forty  syllogisms  in  this  book,  accom- 
modating the  arguments  to  his  easy  comprehension  ;  hop- 
ing he  may  thus  have  a  better  idea  of  the  composition  of 
a  syllogism  than  that  of  the  atheist — Thaddeus  B.  Wake- 


96  ZOROASTER  A   THEIST. 

man,  who,  in  his  attempted  answer  to  our  address — 
"Christianity  Defended,"  deHvered  before  the  Free- 
thinkers' Convention,  assembled  at  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
August,  1883,  by  saying  that  ''Syllogisms  cannot  weigh 
against  facts" — not  knowing  that  the  first  two  members 
of  a  syllogism  are  statements  of  fact,  and  the  third,  the 
conclusion  which  they  necessitate — escape  from  which  is 
only  by  showing  the  assumed  facts  are  not  such.  For  ex- 
ample, ' '  It  is  a  fact  that  a  plant  has  not  the  power  of  loco- 
motion. It  is  another  fact  that  an  oak  is  a  plant.  It  is  a 
fact,  therefore,  that  an  oak  has  no  power  of  locomotion." 
Here  we  have  the  reasoning  knowledge  of  the  existence 
of  the  Creator,  and  that  he  is  the  author  of  the  revealed 
religion  of  the  Scriptures,  confirmed  and  corroborated  by 
the  moral  and  religious  constitution  of  man  ;  and  knowl- 
edge leaves  no  room  for  belief,  nor  demonstration  for 
doubt.  Study  these,  Mr.  Ingersoll,  until  you  have  become 
alarmed  at  your  foolish  and  wicked  hostility  and  abuse  of 
your  Maker,  and  not  only  repent  with  Godly  sorrow,  but 
no  more  manifest  the  audacity  of  a  coward,  but  the  learn- 
ing of  a  man  whom  the  truth  always  humbles  and  makes 
free  ! 

The  Scoffer' s  Socialistic  Communism. 

Though  he  may  not  be  publicly  identified  with  com- 
munism, yet  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  arch-skeptic  is  one 
of  the  most  advanced  among  its  leaders  in  this  country,  as 
Charles  Bradlaugh  was  in  England,  whose  principles  are 
educating  and  organizing  the  people  for  a  repetition  of 
the  French  revolution  of  the  last  century.  With  the  gen- 
eral conviction  of  the  existence  of  God,  this  would  be 
impossible  in  any  country  or  age.  Hence  the  popular 
career  of  these  two  men  in  their  attempts  to  dissipate 
this  conviction  from  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the  two 
most  civilized  nations  of  the  world.  Not  by  argument, 
for  this  is  impossible  in  defence  of  error,  but  by  recourse 
to  sarcasm  and  ridicule  of  their  Maker.  One  of  these 
atheists  has  been  a  member  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  other  of  Parliament.  Although  revealed 
religion  is  opposed  to  the  oppression  of  the  poor  by  the 


ORIGINAL   SOIL  AN   ACT   OF   CREATION.         9/ 

rich,  it  is  equally  opposed  to  any  combination  of  the 
poor  against  the  rich,  in  a  spirit  of  revenge,  or  any  act 
to  seize  their  property  by  force.  These,  as  we  have  seen, 
are  to  be  patient  in  their  sufferings,  until  their  Lord 
comes  to  judge  the  oppressor  and  reward  the  righteous 
oppressed  ''Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the 
Lord."  These  reformers  have  the  same  old  selfish  nature, 
which  nothing  but  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  can  change 
for  the  better,  and  which  the  gospel  of  humanity  (so- 
called),  has  and  must  change  for  the  worse.  It  is  suscept- 
ible of  every  possible  interpretation,  so  long  as  it  rejects 
the  idea  of  a  living  God,  watching  the  spirit,  actions, 
and  motives  of  men. 


Inger soli's  Contumelious  Treattnent  of  the  Scriptures. 

''One  of  the  gods,"  says  the  scoffer,  "and  one  who 
demands  our  love,  our  admiration  and  worship,  gave  to 
his  chosen  people  for  their  guidance  the  following  laws  of 
war :  '  When  thou  comest  nigh  unto  a  city  to  fight 
against  it,  then  proclaim  peace  unto  it.  And  it  shall  be 
if  it  make  peace  with  thee  and  open  unto  thee,  then  it 
shall  be  that  all  the  people  found  therein,  shall  be  tribu- 
taries unto  thee,  and  shall  serve  thee,  and  if  it  will  make 
no  peace  with  thee,  but  will  make  war  against  thee,  then 
thou  shalt  besiege  it.  And  when  the  Lord  thy  God  hath 
delivered  it  unto  thy  hands,  thou  shalt  smite  every  male 
with  the  sword,  but  the  women,  and  the  little  ones,  and 
the  cattle,  and  all  that  is  in  the  city,  even  all  the  spoil 
thereof,  shalt  thou  take  unto  thyself.  Thus  shalt  thou  do 
unto  all  cities  of  these  nations.  But  of  the  cities  of  these 
people  which  the  Lord  thy  God  doth  give  thee  for  an  in- 
heritance, thou  shalt  save  alive  nothing  that  breatheth.'  " 
(Deut.  20  :  10-16.)  Here  the  scoffer  stops,  while  the 
next  two  verses  introduce  the  reason  for  the  extermina- 
tion commanded.  In  thus  quoting  Scripture  he  mis- 
quotes it  by  omitting  the  qualification,  and  evidently  that 
he  may  have  something  to  say  against  it.  Of  such  it  is 
said,  "  They  handle  the  word  of  God  deceitfully,  and 
wrest  the   Scriptures  to    their   own   destruction."     The 


98  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

verses  read  thus  :  "  But  thou  shalt  utterly  destroy  them  ; 
namely,  the  Hittites,  the  Amorites,  Canaanites,  Perizzites, 
Hivites,  and  the  Jebusites ;  as  the  Lord  thy  God  hath 
commanded  thee :  that  they  teach  not  my  people  to  do 
after  their  abominations,  which  they  have  done  unto  their 
gods  j  so  should  ye  sin  against  the  Lord  your  God." 

Now  hear  the  blasphemer:  ''  Is  it  possible  for  man  to 
conceive  of  anything  more  perfectly  infamous  ?  Can  you 
believe  that  such  directions  were  given  by  any  being,  ex- 
cept an  infinite  fiend  ?  Remember  that  the  army  receiv- 
ing the  instructions  was  one  of  invasion.  Peace  was  of- 
fered upon  condition  that  the  people  submitting  should  be 
slaves  of  the  invader  [to  reduce  a  conquered  people  to  be 
tributary,  Ingersoll  understands  to  make  slaves  of  them, 
and  he  an  ex-colonel],  but  if  any  should  have  the  courage 
to  defend  their  homes,  to  fight  for  the  love  of  wife,  and 
child,  then  the  sword  was  to  spare  none,  not  even  the 
pratthng  dimpled-chinned  babe."  That  we  may  dispose 
of  this  sickish  cant  and  scoffing  against  God  and  the 
Bible,  we  quote  another  passage  ;  showing  that  after  the 
Amorites  had  fitted  themselves  for  destruction,  contemn- 
ing their  Maker  by  constructing  effigies  of  him,  and 
calling  them  gods,  and  making  warfare  against  him  and 
his  people,  just  as  Ingersoll  is  doing  ;  and  this  accounts 
for  his  expressions  of  sympathy  for  the  Amorites.  The 
passage  is  this  :  ''  Joshua  made  war  a  long  time  with  all 
those  kings.  There  was  not  a  city  that  made  peace  with 
the  children  of  Israel,  save  the  Hivites — the  inhabitants 
of  Gibeon  ;  all  others  they  took  in  battle  :  for  it  was  of 
the  Lord  to  harden  their  hearts,  that  they  should  come 
against  Israel,  that  he  might  destroy  them  utterly,  as  the 
Lord  commanded  Moses. ' '  (Joshua  1 1 .)  This  battle  was 
that  which  was  fought  at  the  time  Joshua  commanded  the 
sun  to  stand  still,  which  we  have  already  considered. 

It  was  the  insults  offered  to  the  living  God  and  his 
worship,  and  by  which  tliey  would  be  likely  to  teach  his 
people,  that  led  to  their  extermination,  just  as  it  led  him 
to  destroy  the  antediluvian  generation  of  men,  having 
utterly  failed  to  answer  the  puri)ose  for  which  God  made 
them.     To  dishonor  him  even  to  defiance,  they  made  effi- 


ORIGINAL   SOIL   AN   ACT   OF   CREATION.         99 

gies  and  mocking  likenesses,  and  worshipped  them  in  deri- 
sion of  his  person  and  worship.  One  of  these  they  called 
Moloch,  a  brazen  image  surrounded  by  fires  which  they 
kept  burning,  and  caused  their  children  to  pass  through 
the  fires  to  the  image,  though  they  were  burned  to  death. 
The  Lord  had  said  to  Israel,  ''Thou  shalt  not  do  so 
unto  the  Lord  thy  God  :  for  every  abomination  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  hateth,  have  they  done  to  their  gods : 
for  even  their  sons  and  their  daughters  they  have  burned 
in  the  fires  to  their  gods."  (Deut.  2.)  There  was 
none  but  the  Gibeonites,  who  had  made  peace  with 
Joshua ;  all  the  others  worshipped  the  fire-god  Moloch, 
sacrificing  to  him  their  children.  Here  are  the  loving 
fathers  and  mothers  of  those  nations  of  Ingersoll's  sym- 
pathy, burning  their  prattling,  dimpled  -  chinned  little 
ones  in  the  fire,  to  show  their  hatred  and  defiance  of 
their  Maker.  Was  it  not  more  merciful  to  kill  these  lit- 
tle ones  by  the  sword  of  Joshua,  or  the  hailstones  from 
heaven,  than  to  leave  them  for  their  loving  fathers  and 
mothers  to  burn  in  the  fires  of  Moloch  ? 

TJie  Laws  of  God  Must  be  Against  Image-worship. 

''And  the  Lord  descended  in  a  cloud,  and  stood  with 
Moses,  and  proclaimed  the  name  of  the  Lord  :  the  Lord 
God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-sufTering,  and  abun- 
dant in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands, 
forgiving  iniquity,  transgression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by 
no  means  clear  the  guilty  ;  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children,  unto  the  third  and  fourth  gen- 
eration "  ("  of  them  that  hate  me,"  is  added  in  the 
commandment).  "Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any 
graven  image,  or  any  likeness  of  any  thing  that  is  in 
heaven  above,  or  that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is 
in  the  water  under  the  earth  :  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down 
thyself  to  them,  nor  serve  them  :  for  the  Lord  thy  God 
is  a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  up- 
on the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of 
them  that  hate  me  ;  and  showing  mercy  unto  thousands 
of  them  that   love  me,  and  keep  my  commandments." 


100  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

(Deut.  20  :  4-6).  ''  And  Moses  boAved  his  head  and 
worshipped.  And  he  said,  Behold  !  I  make  a  covenant 
before  all  the  people,  I  will  do  miracles,  such  as  have  not 
been  done  in  all  the  earth,  nor  in  any  nation  :  and  all 
the  people  among  v/hich  thou  art  shall  see  the  work  of 
the  Lord  :  for  it  is  a  terrible  thing  that  I  will  do  for  thee. 
Observe  thou  that  which  I  command  thee  this  day  :  Be- 
hold !  I  drive  out  before  thee  the  Amorite,  the  Canaan- 
ite,  the  Hittite,  the  Perizzite,  the  Hivite  and  the  Jebus- 
ite.  Take  heed  to  thyself,  lest  thou  make  a  covenant 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  whither  thou  goest,  lest 
it  be  a  snare  in  the  midst  of  thee  :  but  ye  shall  destroy 
their  altars,  break  down  their  images,  and  cut  down  their 
groves  :  for  the  Lord's  name  is  a  jealous  God."  Inger- 
soll  says,  ''  The  army  of  Joshua  was  one  of  invasion  ;  " 
this  supposes  the  people  in  possession  had  a  good  title  to 
the  land.  The  only  title  nations  have  to  land,  is  one  of 
war :  of  conquest,  the  stronger  taking  it  from  the  weak- 
er, the  latter  being  invaders  or  revolutionists  ;  while  the 
Creator  is  the  only  real  owner,  and  this  particular  piece 
of  land  God  deeded  to  these  descendants  of  Abraham 
more  than  four  hundred  years  before  this  event,  and  that 
seed  had  now  come  to  take  possession  of  their  own  land, 
under  the  visible  direction  of  Joshua ;  but  really  under 
the  unseen  hand  of  God,  the  owner  and  proprietor  of  the 
universe. 

The  Maker  of  the  world  is  merciful  and  long-suffering 
with  even  his  contemners  who  make  effigies  in  derision  of 
his  righteous  authority,  ascribing  to  them  the  honor  due 
alone  to  him.  The  work  of  Ingersoll  and  his  sym- 
pathizers have  no  visible  symbols;  but  in  spirit  and 
purpose  manifest  the  same  hatred  and  dishonor  to  their 
Creator,  as  that  of  the  Amorites.  They  contemptuously 
confound  him  with  the  things  he  has  made.  They  have 
constructed  a  lifeless  image,  and  call  it  EVOLUTION ! 
and  blasphemously  ascribe  to  it  their  creation.  They  do 
not  burn  their  living  children  and  friends  in  the  fires  of, 
Moloch,  as  the  civil  laws  would  not  allow ;  but  they 
build  cremation  ovens,  as  the  same  haters  of  God  did  of 
old,  in  which  they  burn  their  children  and  friends  after 


ORIGINAL   SOIL   AN   ACT   OF   CREATION.       lOI 

they  are  dead.  Even  the  disgraceful  fiery  furnaces  are 
allowed  to  be  built  in  our  popular  cemeteries  :  shame  on 
men  running  into  heathenism  !  The  heathens  burned  the 
Christians  because  they  believed  and  hoped  the  Creator 
would  re-create  or  raise  them  from  the  dead,  at  the  last 
day,  supposing  that  as  they  scattered  the  ashes  of  the 
martyred  saints  into  the  seas  and  rivers,  God  could  not 
resurrect  them  ;  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  these 
evolution-atheists  who  practice  cremation,  entertain  the 
same  feeling  of  defeating  their  own  resurrection,  dreading 
the  personal  contact  with  their  Maker  at  his  judgment. 
The  same  class  of  people  under  the  reign  of  the  Emperor 
Adrian,  seeing  that  the  Christians  were  not  afraid  to  die 
because  they  believed  God  would  raise  them  to  life  again 
at  the  last  day,  constructed  cremation  ovens  and  burned 
the  martyrs'  bodies  to  ashes,  and  then  said,  "  Now  let  us 
see  if  their  God  is  able  to  raise  them  again  to  life?" 
Thus  do  these  conspirators  against  God  become  the  mod- 
ern Amorites.  And  because  God  does  not  visit  imme- 
diately upon  the  scoffers  the  due  penalty  of  their  unholy 
deeds,  they  presume  upon  his  mercy  to  sin  against  him. 
In  view  of  which  he  thus  remonstrates :  '^  Because  sen- 
tence against  an  evil  work  is  not  executed  speedily,  there- 
fore the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set  in  them  to 
do  evil."  (Ecc.  8:  ii.)  As  illustrating  this  principle 
of  God's  administration,  we  have  such  Scripture  as  the 
following:  *'  For  the  Scripture  saith  unto  Pharaoh,  even 
for  this  same  purpose  have  I  raised  thee  up,  that  I  might 
show  my  power  in  thee,  and  that  my  name  might  be  de- 
clared throughout  all  the  earth.  Therefore  hath  he  mercy 
on  whom  he  will  have  mercy  [and  we  have  seen,  these  are 
they  who  love  him  and  keep  his  commandments],  and 
whom  he  will  he  hardeneth  [as  he  did  Pharaoh  and  the 
Amorites,  who  made  war  against  the  execution  of  his 
purposes  that  they  might,  under  the  delusion,  force  them- 
selves against  his  instruments  of  destruction — the  armies 
of  the  Israelites  and  the  hailstones  from  heaven].  Thou 
wilt  say,  then,  why  doth  he  yet  find  fault?  for  who  hath 
resisted  his  will  [who  hath  done  this  successfully  in  these 
national  affairs]  ?    Nay,  but,  O  man  !    who  art  thou  that 


102  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

repliest  against  God  ? — shall  the  thing  formed  say  to  him 
that  formed  it,   Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus  ? 

"  What  if  God,  willing  to  show  his  wrath,  and  make 
his  power  known,  endured  with  much  long-suffering  the 
vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction :  that  he  might 
make  known  the  riches  of  his  glory  on  the  vessels  of 
mercy. ' '  (Rom.  9  :  1 7-2  2 . )  ' '  Behold  therefore  the  good- 
ness and  severity  of  God  :  on  them  that  fell,  severity  ; 
but  toward  thee,  goodness,  if  thou  continue  in  his  good- 
ness:  otherwise  thou  shalt  be  cut  off."  (Rom.  11  :  12.) 
Let  us  sum  up  a  few  of  the  facts  taught  in  these  Script- 
ures. First,  God  had  endured  and  suffered  the  insults 
and  abuses  of  the  Amorites  four  hundred  years,  while  they 
had  been  filling  up  the  cup  of  their  iniquity,  which  had 
now  culminated  in  a  confederacy  to  wage  a  war  of  exter- 
mination against  his  people  ;  thus  had  they  made  them- 
selves vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction.  God  owned 
the  land  of  the  Amorites,  and  had  promised  to  give  it  to 
this  people  :  the  seed  of  Abraham,  four  hundred  years 
before.  The  issue  was  made  by  these  people,  and  the 
question  was,  whether  they  or  God,  their  maker,  should 
succeed  in  the  war  of  extermination.  IngersoU  naturally 
takes  sides  with  the  Amorites  in  the  iconoclastic  war. 
During  the  same  four  hundred  years,  the  Pharaohs  of 
Egypt  were  also  fitting  themselves  for  the  same  destruc- 
tion. All  the  male  children  of  God's  people  were  killed, 
which  would  have  exterminated  them  in  one  generation, 
and  this  necessitated  the  Red  Sea  catastrophe.  It  is  when 
nations  and  generations  thus  array  themselves  against  the 
purposes  of  God,  that  he  makes  examples  of  them,  as  in 
these  two  instances,  that  others  may  be  warned,  and  fear. 
Hence,  in  mercy,  he  makes  the  wrath  of  man  praise  him, 
restraining  the  remainder  by  their  destruction. 

T/ie  Creator  Must  Manifest  His  Interest  in  Natiojtal 
Affairs. 

So  far  as  the  Amoritish  mothers  were  concerned,  ev- 
erybody knows  it  is  the  mothers  who  teach  their  children 
religion,  whether  true  or  false.     Had  these  mothers  been 


ORIGINAL  SOIL  AN  ACT  OF   CREATION.       103 

kept  alive,  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  next  generation 
would  have  been  just  as  mahgnant  haters  of  God  as  were 
their  fathers.  And  had  they  married  Hebrew  husbands 
(and  this  was  the  danger),  they  would  have  succeeded  in 
converting  the  coming  generation  into  image  -  worship- 
pers, and  haters  of  the  true  and  living  God.  It  is  also 
the  women  who  generally  convert  their  husbands,  either 
to  good  or  bad  religion.  Now,  what  an  imbecile  would 
God  have  been,  to  have  commanded  Moses  and  Joshua  to 
have  kept  these  loving  mothers  alive  whose  practice  was 
to  offer  their  own  children,  while  alive,  burnt  sacrifices 
to  the  brazen  Moloch  :  perfect  monsters  of  inhumanity  ! 
As  to  the  prattling,  dimpled-chinned  babes,  as  Ingersoll 
describes  them,  thinking  to  enhance  the  atrocity  of  ex- 
terminating them,  by  sympathetic  expression,  that  was  an 
act  in  the  line  of  the  purpose  for  which  God  made  man 
and  the  world,  securing  these  innocent  infants  for  his 
kingdom.  Christ  said,  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  unto  me,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
Had  these  children  lived  to  maturity,  in  all  human 
probability  they  would  have  learned  about  their  ancestors  ; 
and  though  among  the  Israelites,  who  themselves  were 
bred  among  Egyptian  idolatry,  and  therefore  inclined  to 
its  practice,  would  have  only  repeated  the  experience  of 
their  parents,  and  shared  their  fate. 

All  Rational  Beings  Jealous  of  their  Rights  and  Honor. 

The  fact  that  all  rational  beings  are  jealous  of  their 
rights  and  honor,  especially  that  of  their  veracity,  leaves 
no  other  conclusion  than  that  such  is  the  character  of  the 
Creator  himself.  As,  therefore,  no  man  will  submit  to 
their  infringement,  who  has  the  power  to  defend  them, 
such  must  be  the  character  and  practice  of  the  Maker 
himself.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  men  do  not  always  resent 
an  injury  when  first  committed,  but  wait — in  mercy, 
hoping  that  the  wrongdoer  will  repent  and  repair  the 
evil.  So  we  must  infer  it  is  with  God,  had  he  not  re- 
vealed the  fact ;  but  for  man  or  his  Maker  never  to  vin- 
dicate his  character,  and  defend  his  rights,  shows  not  only 


104  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

weakness,  but  a  want  of  self-respect,  and  common  honor. 
It  is  another  law  of  mind,  to  love  them  that  love  us.  So 
it  is  with  God,  who  says,  ^'  I  love  them  that  love  me." 
It  is  also  a  law  of  natural  rights,  that  proprietors  have 
the  first  and  highest  claim.  For  example,  upon  tenants, 
and  the  discharge  of  every  reciprocal  obhgation  among 
their  fellows  in  nowise  affects  their  common  obligation 
to  owners.  All  men  are  God's  tenants  at  will ;  and 
whether  he  be  merciful  or  implacable,  just  or  unjust, 
good  or  bad,  loving  or  a  tyrant,  makes  no  difference  as  to 
his  right  to  demand  the  obedience  of  his  creatures,  even 
if  he  is,  as  IngersoU  represents  him,  "  A  fiend."  Even 
in  such  a  case  it  appeals  to  the  motive  of  self-interest  to 
obey  him.  The  answer  of  Christ  to  the  charge  of  the 
unfaithful  steward  in  the  parable  of  the  talents,  ''  That 
he  was  a  hard  master,  reaping  where  he  had  not  sown, 
and  gathering  where  he  had  not  strown,"  illustrates  this 
principle.  *'Thou  knewest  that  I  was  an  hard  man, 
thou  oughtest  therefore  to  have  let  out  my  money  to  the 
exchangers,  that  at  my  coming  I  might  receive  my  own 
with  interest." 

We  expect  to  be  present  and  hear  the  arch-scoffer, 
while  surrounded  by  the  willing  dupes  of  his  art,  interro- 
gated by  Christ  the  judge,  who,  if  he  is  as  bold  then  as 
now,  will  answer  after  this  manner  :  "I  did  not  think  you 
existed  at  all,  and  if  you  did,  you  had  let  me  go  on  so 
long  in  defying  your  authority,  and  insulting  you  by 
ranking  you  as  one  of  the  gods,  and  being  so  indulgent,  I 
thought  you  would  never  hurt  anyone ;  and  so  long  as  I 
could  make  money  by  my  lectures,  why,  I  went  on.  And 
if  you  was  so  cruel  as  to  burn  up  your  enemies  with  fire 
and  brimstone,  then  I  would  not  obey  you  at  all !  "  To 
this  we  expect  to  hear  the  reply  :  ''  Then  you  would  not 
obey  me  because  I  was  a  tyrant,  as  you  called  me,  and 
that  because  I  demanded  the  obedience  of  my  creatures ; 
but  you,  as  one  of  those  creatures,  have  tyrannized  over 
me  and  my  laws,  and  even  now  it  is  in  your  heart  to  de- 
throne me,  and  would  do  it  if  you  had  the  power  ;  conse- 
quently you  are  one  of  the  most  arrogant  usurpers  and 
malignant   tyrants  standing    in  all  this    '  Court  of  the 


ORIGINAL  SOIL  AN  ACT  OF  CREATION.      IO5 

gospel,'  as  you,  sneeringly  called  it,  'A  vessel  of  wrath 
fitted  for  destruction.'  "  It  is  clear  that  this  man  has  not 
the  faintest  conception  of,  the  character  of  God,  as  the 
Scriptures  reveal  him,  or  as  he  is  revealed  in  the  common 
philosophy  of  human  kind,  or  of  his  wisdom,  power,  and 
goodness  revealed  in  nature  and  providence,  and  that  he 
is  equally  ignorant  concerning  his  plan  and  design  with 
man  and  the  world  ;  and  therefore  utterly  incompetent 
to  discuss  a  single  doctrine  or  sentiment  the  Scriptures 
reveal.  That  others  understand  these  with  no  better 
natural,  intellectual  faculties  than  those  he  possesses, 
proves  his  ignorance  to  be  without  excuse.  Therefore,  in 
selecting  certain  passages  descriptive  of  things  God  di- 
rected to  be  done,  or  approved  of  when  done,  and  hold- 
ing them  up  to  ridicule,  and  God's  mistakes,  he  is  covering 
himself  with  infamy  in  the  eyes  of  all  good  men,  especi- 
ally in  the  estimation  of  those  who  understand  the  revela- 
tion of  this  being,  contained  alike  in  the  works  of  Nature, 
Providence,  and  Scripture.  There  are  facts  connected 
with  the  administration  of  every  civil  ruler  which,  if  se- 
lected and  separated  from  the  legitimate  connection  ex- 
plaining them,  and  if  held  up  to  ridicule  by  a  hater  of 
that  ruler,  would  bring  him  into  contempt,  at  least  in  the 
estimation  of  those  unacquainted  mth  that  history.  There 
never  was  a  constitution  or  code  of  laws  but  which  con- 
tained provisions,  if  taken  alone  and  handled  by  an  artful 
enemy,  might  not  be  made  to  appear  inconsistent  and 
ridiculous. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  GOD  A  FUTURE  THEOCRACY. 

The  most  fruitful  source  of  error  is  the  supposition  that 
the  inhabitants,  or  any  of  them,  of  the  present  world  are 
the  subjects  of  God's  government.  The  Scriptures  repre- 
sent them  naturally  as  being  in  a  state  of  rebellion  and 
hostile  to  his  authority.  God  has  revealed  no  thought 
or  design  of  establishing  a  government  in  this  world,  and 
only  keeps  it  in  existence  in  order  to  induce  a  sufficient 
number  of  its  inhabitants  to  become  reconciled  to  his 
righteous  and  endless  reign  in  the  world  to  come — this 
world  re-created  and  these  subjects  resurrected  or  re-cre- 
ated into  immortal  men  and  women.  It  is  the  promise 
of  this  as  reward,  the  glad  tidings  of  which  is  the  gospel 
God  has  ordained  to  be  the  inducement  for  men  to  be- 
come those  subjects ;  and  we  venture  the  remark,  that  if 
IngersoU  was  interrogated  as  to  his  views  upon  this  only 
object  and  revealed  design  of  the  creation  of  the  world 
and  man,  he  would  not  only  show  profound  ignorance 
upon  the  subject,  but  would  be  unable  to  point  out  an 
intelligent  passage  concerning  it  published  in  any  paper 
or  book  of  which  he  was  the  author.  This  is  our  charge 
for  his  blunders  and  foolish  talk  about  God  and  the 
Bible. 

In  further  confirmation  of  this,  let  us  hear  him  again  : 
"  And  we  are  called  upon  to  worship  such  a  God  ;  to  get 
upon  our  knees  and  tell  him  he  is  good,  merciful,  and  just 
— that  he  is  love.  We  are  asked  to  stifle  every  noble  sen- 
timent of  the  soul,  and  to  trample  under  foot  all  the  sweet 
charities  of  the  heart,  because  we  refuse  to  stultify  our- 
selves— refuse  to  become  liars.  We  are  denounced,  hated, 
traduced,  and  ostracized  here,  and  this  same  God  threatens 
to  torment  us  in  eternal  fire  the  moment  death  allows  him 


THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  GOD.  I07 

to  fiercely  clutch  our  naked,  helpless  souls.  Let  the 
people  hate,  let  the  God  threaten ;  we  will  educate  them, 
and  we  will  despise  and  defy  him.  The  book  called  the 
Bible  is  filled  with  passages  equally  horrible,  unjust,  and 
atrocious.  This  is  the  book  to  be  read  in^schools  in 
order  to  make  our  children  loving,  kind,  and  gentle  ! 
This  is  the  book  to  be  recognized  in  our  Constitution  as 
the  source  of  all  authority  and  justice  !  "  Here  we  have 
an  illustration  of  the  scoffer's  frenzied  metamorphism. 
First,  there  is  no  God ;  second,  if  there  is,  then  we 
should  kneel  before  him  ;  third,  if  there  is  such  a  God  as 
the  Bible  describes,  then  we  should  not  kneel  before  him, 
but  despise,  hate,  and  defy  him.  This  is  the  standard  to 
which  the  scoffer  and  his  admirers  hope  to  educate  the 
people.  These  are  the  fundamental  doctrines  in  his  creed 
and  the  purpose  of  the  heart  of  the  man  who  refuses  to 
stultify  himself.  (To  stultify  is  to  make  a  man  appear 
foolish.  How  can  a  man  be  more  foolish  than  to  defy 
the  God  with  all  wisdom  and  all  power,  even  if  he  is  a 
fiend.)  A  beautiful  mind  to  see  faults  in  God  and  in- 
consistencies of  dealing  with  his  creatures  ! 

The  effect  of  Ingersoll's  war  with  God,  and  that  of 
those  he  induces  to  join  his  atheistic  conspiracy,  must  re- 
sult, as  it  should,  in  the  endless  loss  of  themselves.  They 
fail  in  the  end  of  answering  the  purpose  of  becoming 
loyal  subjects  of  God's  proposed  righteous  government, 
for  which  they  were  made  ;  they  can,  therefore,  hope  for 
no  place  in  it.  But  by  such  influences  the  Creator  is 
subjected  to  a  longer  state  of  suffering  than  he  would 
otherwise  have  been,  as  it  has  taken  him  a  longer  time  to 
obtain  others  to  take  their  place  and  crown  ;  but  all  this 
was  taken  into  the  account  in  appointing  the  day  for  the 
execution  of  the  work,  and  the  whole  calamity  and  loss 
will  fall  upon  the  scoffing  seducers  and  seduced  victims 
of  their  artful  hate.  Not  that  God  is  unmerciful  or  un- 
forgiving, but  by  this  despicable  habit  of  rebellion  they 
have  disqualified  themselves  for  repentance  and  compli- 
ance with  the  conditions  necessary  to  become  loyal  sub- 
jects to  the  rightful  ruler  of  the  anticipated  eternal 
government !     This  result,  therefore,  is  the  profoundest 


I08  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

natural  and  moral  philosophy  of  the  system,  and  in  itself 
unanswerable. 

The  fear  of  such  an  end  may  have  the  effect  of  deter- 
ring men  from  the  cultivation  of  such  a  disposition,  which 
grows  more  despotic  over  them  with  every  repeated  act  of 
rebellion;  but  from  the  very  moment  the  punishment 
begins  to  be  felt,  it  is  as  impossible  to  make  the  sufferer 
love  him  who  inflicts  it  as  to  make  a  man  love  his  fel- 
low-man who  subjects  him  to  punishment.  One  being 
may  induce  another  to  thus  obey  him  in  outward  acts,  as 
painful  as  the  torments  may  be  ;  but  it  is  unnatural  and 
impossible  that  such  means  can  beget  love.  The  opinion 
of  Ingersoll  is  that  men  cannot  love  the  God  of  the  Bible 
— and  this  expresses  his  own  experience,  which  must  be 
common  to  all  who  are  still  rebellious ;  for  how  can  such 
love  a  being  against  whom  they  are  prosecuting  a  relent- 
less warfare  ?  Nor  can  such  have  the  least  conception 
how  anyone  else  can  love  him.  But  how  many  millions 
of  men  with  hostile  feelings  and  views  of  God  have  been 
induced  by  the  Bible  revelation  of  his  love  for  them, 
manifested  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  life,  and  the  reward 
promised  those  who  love  and  obey,  to  cease  the  unequal 
and  unnatural  warfare,  and  not  only  become  reconciled 
to  his  propositions  and  way  of  doing  things,  but  so  to 
love  him  that  they  have  laid  and  will  lay  down  their 
lives  rather  than  thereafter  offend  him  ! 

The  testimony  of  Ingersoll  is  but  negative — what  he 
does  not  know  ;  and  correctly  enough,  because  still  on  the 
rebellious  side,  waring  against  God  and  his  laws.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  have  the  testimony  of  the  millions  of 
those  who  love  him  and  all  he  says  in  his  word,  and 
heartily  approve  of  everything  he  professes  in  the  Bible 
to  have  done  and  proposes  to  do.  These  also  testify  that 
once  they  had  the  feelings  of  the  rebellious,  and  now  of 
the  loving  and  loyal.  In  view  of  this,  we  would  ask 
which  of  these  classes  is  it  reasonable  to  credit? — which 
are  to  be  believed,  those  who  had  a  knowledge  of  one 
class  of  facts,  or  those  who  had  that  of  both  ?  In  the 
total  ignorance  of  the  latter  experience,  the  scoffer  says, 
''  We  are  called  on  to  stifle  every  noble  sentiment,  tram- 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  IO9 

pie  on  charity,  and  stultify — make  fools  of — ourselves." 
But  what  would  a  court  say  and  do  with  IngersoU  if, 
when  called  as  a  witness  to  tell  what  he  knew  about  a 
certain  case,  he  should  persist  in  talking  about  it  in  the 
most  positive  manner,  and  yet  knew  nothing  about  it  ? 
Would  they  not  put  the  audicious  fool  out  of  court? 
Thus  does  he  stultify  himself  ! 

Doctrine  of  Devils — The  Scoffer's  Preference  for  Them. 

Says  he:  "  Our  ancestors  not  only  had  their  godfath- 
ers, but  they  made  devils  as  well.  These  devils  were 
generally  disgraced  and  fallen  gods.  [This  is  not  true  of 
the  devils  brought  to  view  in  the  Bible,  for  they  were 
fallen  angels — creatures.  Nor  have  Freethinkers  thrown 
such  light  upon  the  subject  that  leads  intelligent  Chris- 
tians to  be  caught  in  the  devil's  last  snare,  with  which  he 
has  captured  IngersoU — namely,  that  there  is  no  devil ; 
that  he  himself  does  not  exist — nor  was  he  cunning 
enough  to  make  our  ancestors  believe  the  lie.]  Some  had 
headed  successful  revolts.  [This  is  not  true  of  the  devil 
or  devils  in  biblical  history  ;  but  this  man  does  not  know 
the  difference  between  its  statements  and  those  of  John 
Milton.  Nor  has  the  devil's  opposition  to  the  will  of 
God  proved  in  the  least  successful  against  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  purposes,  and  he  himself  is  yet  reserved  unto 
the  judgment  of  the  last  day  to  be  punished,  in  common 
with  all  his  human  dupes,  who  might  have  been  coro- 
nated in  the  coming  kingdom  of  God  had  they  been  wise 
enough  to  have  discovered  Satan's  devices.]  Some  had 
been  caught  sweetly  reclining  in  the  shadowy  folds  of  a 
fleecy  cloud,  kissing  the  wife  of  the  god  of  gods.  [There 
is  not  only  nothing  like  this  account  in  the  Bible,  nor  in 
Homer,  that  a  devil  kissed  the  wife  of  the  god  of  gods, 
and  we  hold  IngersoU  responsible  for  its  origin.]  These 
devils  generally  sympathized  with  man. ' '  [This  is  a  fact, 
and  is  explained  by  the  other  fact  that  men,  especially 
such  as  IngersoU,  always  sympathized  with  their  father, 
the  devil,  in  their  hatred  of  God  and  his  cause.  It  is 
also  explained  by  the  adage,  ''Misery  loves  company,*' 


no  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

and  by  the  philosophic  words  of  Burns,  "  Like  draws  hke 
to  hke."  Said  one  of  these  devils  to  Christ,  his  destined 
destroyer,  "  Art  thou  come  to  destroy  us  before  the  time  ?" 
It  is  another  historic  fact  contained  in  the  Bible,  that 
when  any  man  forsook  the  friendship  and  service  of  the 
devil,  and  he  failed  to  seduce  him  back,  that  he  did  his 
best  to  torment  and  kill  him,  as  in  the  case  of  Job.  So 
that  the  extent  of  the  devil's  sympathy  is  limited  to  the 
circle  of  his  friends.]  He  further  says,  ''  There  is  in  re- 
gard to  devils  a  most  wonderful  fact :  in  nearly  all  the 
theologies,  mythologies,  and  religions,  the  devils  have 
been  much  more  merciful  and  humane  than  the  gods." 
[All  this  general  talk  about  devils  by  Ingersoll  means 
those  of  the  Bible,  who  wickedly  brings  in  the  fabled 
legends  to  disparage  those  of  the  sacred  book,  in  which 
there  is  not  a  humane  act  a  devil  ever  did  recorded.] 
"  No  devil  ever  gave  one  of  his  generals  an  order  to  kill 
the  children,  and  rip  open  the  bodies  of  pregnant  women." 
This  is  another  of  his  lying  slanders  against  God  and  the 
Bible. 

As  to  the  devils  having  generals,  this  is  one  of  Inger- 
soU's  funny  sayings  which  makes  him  popular  with  like 
shallow -brains  ;  and  that  God  ever  gave  this  order  to 
kill  the  women  is  another  of  his  lies  and  blasphemies,  for 
which  he  should  be  hissed  out  of  the  society  of  all  but 
devils.  That  our  readers  may  see  the  scoffer's  mixture  of 
hatred,  ignorance,  and  lies,  we  will  examine  the  passage 
about  killing  the  women  and  children. 

"And  Elisha  came  to  Damascus  ;  and  Ben-had  ad,  the 
king  of  Syria,  was  sick :  and  it  was  told  him  the  man  of 
God  was  come.  And  the  king  said  unto  Hazael,  Take  a 
present  in  thy  hand,  and  go,  meet  the  man  of  God,  and 
inquire  of  the  Lord  by  him,  saying.  Shall  I  recover  of  the 
disease?  So  Hazael  went,  with  a  present  of  every  good 
thing  of  Damascus,  forty  camels'  burden,  and  said.  Thy 
son  Ben-hadad,  king  of  Syria,  hath  sent  me,  saying.  Shall 
I  recover  of  this  disease  ?  And  Elisha  said.  Go,  say  unto 
him.  Thou  mayest  certainly  recover;  howbeit  the  Lord 
hath  showed  me  he  shall  surely  die.  And  the  prophet 
settled  his  countenance  steadfastly  upon  Hazael  until  he 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  Ill 

was  ashamed  ;  and  the  man  of  God  wept.  And  Hazael  said, 
Why  weepeth  my  lord  ?  And  he  answered,  I  know  the 
evil  that  thou  wilt  do  unto  the  children  of  Israel ;  their 
strongholds  wilt  thou  set  on  fire,  and  their  young  men 
wilt  thou  slay  with  the  sword,  and  wilt  dash  their  chil- 
dren, and  rip  up  their  women  with  child.  And  Hazael 
said,  But  what !  is  thy  servant  a  dog,  that  he  should 
do  this  great  thing?  And  Elisha  answered.  The  Lord 
hath  showed  me  that  thou  shalt  be  king  over  Syria. 
[The  Lord  saw  the  fact  in  advance,  and  inspired  the  pro- 
phet to  see  it  as  he  did ;  but  the  Lord  had  no  hand  in 
making  this  murderer  king.]  So  he  departed  from  Elisha, 
and  came  to  his  master;  and  he  said,  What  said  Elisha? 
And  he  answered.  He  told  me  that  thou  shouldest  surely 
recover.  [This  was  a  lie  Hazael  told.]  And  it  came 
to  pass  on  the  morrow,  that  Hazael  took  a  thick  cloth, 
and  dipped  it  in  water,  and  spread  it  on  his  face,  so  he 
died."      (2  Kings  8  :  7-15.) 

The  history  of  the  fulfilment  of  this  prediction  is  as 
follows:  "Then  Menahem  smote  Tiphsha,  and  all  that 
were  therein,  and  the  coasts  thereof  from  Tizah,  because 
they  opened  not  unto  him  ;  and  all  the  women  therein 
that  were  with  child  he  ripped  up.  And  Pul  the  king  of 
Assyria  came  against  the  land.  And  Menahem  gave 
Pul  a  thousand  talents  of  silver,  that  his  hand  might  be 
with  him  to  confirm  the  kingdom  in  his  hand.  And 
Menahem  exacted  the  money  of  Israel.  So  the  king  of 
Assyria  stayed  not  then  in  the  land."  "  In  the  nine  and 
thirtieth  year  of  Azariah  king  of  Judah  began  Menahem 
the  son  of  Gadi  to  reign  over  Israel,  and  he  reigned  ten 
years  in  Samaria.  And  he  did  that  which  was  evil  ;n 
the  sight  of  the  Lord.  He  departed  not  all  his  days 
from  the  sins  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat,  who  made 
Israel  to  sin."  (2  Kings.)  Here  is  Menahem  king  of 
Israel,  in  Samaria,  whose  whole  career  was  evil  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord,  but  it  was  not  even  he  who  killed  the 
women  and  children  in  this  manner,  but  Pul,  the  king 
of  heathen  Assyria.  This  is  the  man  who  Ingersoll  says 
was  one  of  God's  generals,  and  whom  he  ordered  to  com- 
mit this  horrible  deed.     Thus  does  this  dutiful  child  of 


112  ZOROASTER    A   THEIST. 

his  father,  the  devil,  charge   his  hes,  slanders,  and  blas- 
phemies against  God  and  the  Bible  for  money. 

Another  False  Charge  Refuted. 

If  Ingersoll  had  the  least  desire  to  establish  right  and 
punish  wrong,  could  he  charge  upon  God  the  work  for 
sending  one  of  his  prophets  to  hew  an  inhuman  king  in 
pieces  who  had  killed  the  children  of  Hebrew  mothers, 
and  pervert  Scripture  history  by  substituting  Hes  for 
facts?  He  says,  "One  of  the  prophets  of  one  of  these 
gods,  having  in  his  power  a  captured  king,  hewed  him  in 
pieces  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people :  was  ever  any  imp  of 
any  devil  guilty  of  such  savagery?  "  The  account  of  this 
act  is  as  follows:  ''Then  said  Samuel,  Bring  ye  hither 
to  me  Agag  the  king  of  the  Amorites.  And  Agag  said, 
Surely  the  bitterness  of  death  is  past.  And  Samuel 
said.  As  thy  sword  hath  made  women  childless,  so  shall 
thy  mother  be  childless  among  women.  And  Samuel 
hewed  Agag  in  pieces  before  the  Lord  in  Gilgal  "  (i 
Sam.  15  :  32,  t^-i^.)  Here  was  a  man  waging  a  war  of  ex- 
termination against  the  people  of  God  and  his  righteous 
purposes.  He  had  ordered  king  Saul  to  slay  king  Agag, 
and  he  disobeyed  ;  and  now  he  sent  his  prophet  to  execute 
the  judgment.  It  was  done  in  sight  of  all  the  people, 
that  they  might  fear  and  obey  their  God  and  Creator. 
The  scoffer  has  no  word  of  rebuke  for  the  savage  war  of 
Agag  in  defence  of  his  gods  and  in  derision  of  his  Crea- 
tor ;  no  word  of  protest  against  the  heathen  king  for 
mercilessly  killing  all  the  children  of  mothers  in  Israel, 
which  he  had  been  savagely  prosecuting ;  but  when  God 
orders  him  to  be  hewn  in  pieces,  why,  it  is  a  more  atro- 
cious deed  of  savagery  than  that  of  which  any  imp  of  any 
devil  was  ever  guilty.  If  the  living  God  will  only  submit 
to  let  the  angel  and  human  devils,  who  fight  him  and  try 
to  induce  his  own  children  to  turn  against  him,  and  never 
show  any  disposition  of  defence  or  resentment,  why,  then 
they  would  let  him  alone  in  pitiable  contempt.  What 
stirs  the  wrath  of  Ingersoll  and  animates  his  savage  elo- 
quence is,  by  beholding  such  a  fate  as  that  of  Agag,  as  in  it 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  II3 

he  sees  his  own  approaching  doom.  This  God  who  can 
order  his  prophets  to  hew  men  in  pieces,  and  his  angels 
to  bind  the  finally  rebellious  and  cast  them  into  a  lake  of 
fire  and  brimstone,  bewilders  him  and  his  atheistic  sym- 
pathizers so  that  they  seem  to  act  as  though,  if  they  did 
not  believe  it,  it  would  not  take  place.  And  then  that 
this  God  never  changes  his  purposes  calls  forth  the  most 
boisterous  protestations,  while  upon  all  the  other  gods 
only  funny  jokes  are  passed  at  the  expense  of  the  wor- 
shippers. 

The  Scoffer's  Sentimentalism  to  Awaken  Sympathy. 

The  scoffer  says:  "The  pestilences  were  sent  by  the 
most  merciful  gods.  The  frightful  famine,  during  which 
the  dying  child  with  pallid  lips  sucked  the  withered  bosom 
of  a  dead  mother,  was  sent  by  the  loving  gods.  No  devil 
was  ever  charged  with  such  fiendish  brutality.  The  devils 
were  always  on  our  side."  In  answer  to  the  first  charge, 
we  may  say  that  this  man  professes  to  believe  in  and 
honors  modern  science,  which  exalts  Nature  herself  to  be 
the  author  of  his  being  ;  it  is  therefore  his  god,  and  yet  in 
every  age  this  god  has  afflicted  the  old  and  young  with 
cruel  famine,  pestilence,  and  earthquakes.  Now,  why  does 
he  worship  such  a  god  ?  Was  any  devil  ever  charged  with 
such  fiendish  brutality  ?  There  are  two  reasons  why  the 
devils  were  not  thus  charged.  One  is  that  their  own 
children,  having  the  family  agreement  and  sympathy, 
would  not  charge  such  an  act  on  their  devil-parents,  but, 
like  Ingersoll,  would  rather  charge  it  on  God,  their 
Maker,  with  whom  they  are  at  terrible  enmity.  The 
other  reason  is  that  none  of  God's  children,  consequently 
the  devil's  enemies,  were  ever  foolish  enough  to  suppose 
any  devil  ever  had  power  to  make  a  famine  or  a  pestilence, 
which  implies  control  of  atmospheric  elements. 

It  is  true  the  devil  once  stirred  up  the  wind  so  that  it 
blew  down  the  house  wherein  Job's  children  were  feast- 
ing ;  but  this  was  by  an  especial  permit  of  his  Maker.  But 
was  it  ever  written  that  God  sent  a  famine  or  pestilence 
upon  a  people  for  their  loving  obedience  to  his  will  and 


114  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

commands  ?  The  lesson  taught  by  famine  is  the  same  as 
that  taught  to  a  prodigal  son  who  has  squandered  his 
father's  bounties  in  selfish  gratification  until  he  is  re- 
duced to  gnawing  of  husks,  the  tendency  of  which  is  to 
bring  him  to  repentance  and  reformation.  It  is  true 
IngersoU  does  not  attempt  to  show  the  injustice  of  sending 
these  upon  the  adult  rebels,  though  it  is  evident  this  is 
what  maddens  him  ;  but  because  it  falls  equally  upon  the 
little  children.  The  answer  to  this  we  have  already  given, 
namely,  that  all  the  little  children,  even  those  of  idolators 
who  thus  die,  not  being  mature  enough  to  make  the  sins 
of  their  parents  their  own,  Christ  has  pledged  his  word  to 
redeem  from  death,  and  ransom  from  the  grave,  and  to  in- 
troduce them  immortal  subjects  of  his  endless  world.  To 
the  old  sinners,  their  parents,  he  said,  *' Except  ye  be 
converted  and  become  as  this  little  child,  ye  can  in  no  case 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  Was  it  an  act  of  cruelty 
to  take  these  little  children  thus,  rather  than  let  them  live, 
if  they  did  not  starve  by  the  famine,  in  communities  where 
they  would  have  been  taught  the  God  dishonoring  and  de- 
grading worship  of  gods  of  wood  and  stone,  causing  them 
to  fail  of  this  grand  object  of  their  being  ?  Die  they  must 
at  some  time ;  and  about  one-third  of  the  human  family 
die  in  infancy  in  any  case. 

The  Blasphemy  Against  the  Holy  Ghost —  WJiat  is  it  ? 

**  The  devils,"  says  IngersoU,  "have  always  been  on 
our  side."  This  is  a  remarkable  confession,  and,  from 
comparisons  he  makes,  he  seems  to  glory  in  the  family  re- 
lationship ;  and  he  certainly  renders  well  his  part  of  the 
service  to  the  common  devildom,  thus  unwittingly  ac- 
knowledging the  Scripture  philosophy,  ''  Know  ye  not 
that  to  whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants  to  obey,  his 
servants  ye  are."  Christ  said  to  the  Jews  who  were 
blaspheming,  by  ascribing  his  miracles  to  the  devil,  "Ye 
are  of  your  father,  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye 
will  do.  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning  and 
abode  not  in  the  truth.  When  he  speaketh  a  lie,  he 
speaketh  of  his  own  :  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  of  it  " 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  II5 

(John  8  :  44,  45.)  Some  of  the  Pharisees  attributed  the 
power  by  which  Christ  cast  out  devils,  to  Beelzebub,  the 
prince  of  devils.  They  said  to  him,  '^  Thou  art  a  Sam- 
aritan and  hast  a  devil."  For  this  manifestation  of  des- 
picable hate  they  were  told  that  there  was  no  forgive- 
ness, neither  in  this  world  nor  in  that  which  is  to  come. 
Not  that  the  sin  in  itself  was  so  atrocious  that  by  comply- 
ing with  the  conditions  of  repentance  it  could  not  be 
pardoned  ;  but  the  heart  from  whence  it  emanated  had 
reached  such  an  adamantine  devil-likeness  of  hatred  to 
Christ,  that  it  despised  him  for  his  goodness,  and  to  ever 
be  brought  to  reverence  him  as  God  and  the  only  Saviour 
was  a  moral  impossibility,  and  without  such  repentance 
and  reverence  the  sin  must  remain.  The  expression  is, 
*' It  hath  never  forgive nessy  If  the.se  Jews  thus  com- 
mitted the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  how  shall  that  of 
Ingersoll  be  measured  ?  Hear  him  :  "No  devil  was  ever 
charged  with  such  fiendish  brutality  as  the  living  God, 
and  the  barbarities  of  the  good  God."  It  seems  as  though 
all  the  mythological  and  theological  devils  of  the  world 
must  have  acknowledged  themselves  outdone  by  this  their 
human  brother.  Had  they  all  been  in  Booth's  Theatre 
and  heard  these  ebullitions,  and  could  have  spoken  with 
audible  voice,  a  yell  of  all  devildom  would  have  rent  the 
air  in  praise  of  their  eloquent  mihtary  chieftain.  It  is 
natural  that  there  should  be  common  agreement  among 
the  whole  family  of  devils,  parents  and  children,  both  of 
angelic  and  Adamic  origin.  Of  course  all  would  be  fault- 
finders with  the  Bible  and  its  Author,  especially  that  part 
which  threatens  them  with  punishment  for  their  oppo- 
sition to  their  Creator  and  his  righteous  government. 
Nothing  would  more  irritate  them  than  the  accounts  of 
its  severe  execution  in  the  present  world,  of  which  there 
is  no  other  reasonable  solution  than  that  of  fearful  appre- 
hension. 

"  Conscience  does  make  cowards  of  us  all." 

It  is  Utterly  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  a  man  should 
be  so  excited  against  Cxod  if  he  had  no  conviction  of  his 
existence,  or  that  he  would  some  day  vindicate  himself 


Il6  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

and  his  word.  No  !  take  this  language  out  of  the  Bible, 
and  Ingersoll's  venom  and  craft  would  both  vanish  at 
once ;  and  not  a  devil  would  find  a  flaw  in  the  book. 
But  even  the  father-devil  himself  is  the  victim  of  this 
conviction,  and  understands  Christ  to  be  the  awarder  at 
the  coming  punishment.  On  one  occasion  a  devil  said  to 
him,  ''Art  thou  come  to  torment  us  before  the  time?" 
not  knowing  but  that  it  was  his  intention  to  execute  this 
work  at  his  first  instead  of  his  second  visit  to  the  world. 
It  must  not  be  thought  objectionable  that  we  should  thus 
use  the  word  devil  to  designate  men  who  have  this  scoffer's 
character.  We  have  seen  that  Christ  called  his  opposers 
and  traducers  the  ''children  of  their  father,  the  devil." 
He  said  once  to  Peter,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,"  be- 
cause he  contradicted  and  opposed  his  words.  All  such 
are  entitled  to  the  ancestral  name.  This  whole  family  are 
haters  of  true  religion,  and  would  exterminate  it  if  they 
had  the  power.  Christ's  example  and  doctrine  are  their 
standing  condemnation.  All  agree  in  attempts  to  degrade 
Christ  to  the  level  of  a  mere  man.  Especially  are  the  hu- 
man part  of  his  opposers  conspicuous  in  this  phase  of  the 
work,  as  in  that  case  they  have  none  but  an  equal  to 
fear.  Not  one  of  the  human  devils  was  ever  heard  to 
speak  well  of  faith  in  God  or  of  the  truth  of  the  Script- 
ures. In  every  one  of  these  particulars  is  Christ  in  dis- 
agreement with  all  the  devils.  Here  is  the  irrepressible 
conflict,  and  it  must  go  on  until  the  end  of  the  world,  at 
which  the  loss  and  punishment  is  appointed  to  be  exe- 
cuted upon  the  whole  devilhood,  and  when  truth  and 
righteousness  will  prevail  over  the  whole  face  of  the  new- 
made  world,  and  without  the  existence  of  a  will  hostile 
to  that  of  God  ! 

The  Scoffer  Exalts  the  DeviV s  Vii'tue  above  his  Lord' s. 

Says  he  :  "  One  of  these  gods,  according  to  the  ac- 
count, drowned  the  entire  world  by  a  flood,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  eight  persons :  the  old,  the  young,  the  beau- 
tiful, and  the  helpless,  were  remorselessly  devoured  by 
the  shoreless  sea.     This,  the  most  fearful  tragedy  that  the 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  II7 

.imagination  of  ignorant  priests  ever  conceived,  was  the 
act,  not  of  a  devil,  but  of  a  god,  so-called,  whom  men 
worship  unto  this  day.  What  a  stain  would  such  an  act 
have  been  upon  the  character  of  a  devil !  "  Hear  how 
the  blaspheming  scoffer  praises  the  good  devil,  when  the 
same  book  contains  the  account  of  the  introduction  by 
the  devil  of  the  death,  not  only  of  a  single  generation, 
alive  at  the  flood,  but  of  the  two  hundred  generations  of 
mankind — men,  women,  old  and  young,  the  beautiful 
and  fair,  the  innocent  and  the  guilty  alike.  He  intro- 
duced sin,  and  death  came  in  consequence,  and  the  only 
way  in  which  God  could  keep  them  alive  was  by  per- 
forming a  perpetual  miracle  and  to  be  abused  by  them 
while  in  the  service  of  the  devil,  and  which  would  have 
subjected  them  to  six  thousand  years  of  pain  and  suffer- 
ing, but  which,  by  depriving  them  of  the  means  of  per- 
petuating their  life,  cut  the  suffering  down  to  three  score 
and  ten  years.  Thus  they  obeyed  the  devil  and  received 
the  pay — "The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  This  is  the 
only  wages  the  devil  could  pay,  and  the  scoffer  praises 
the  devil-murderer  of  the  whole  generations  of  men,  and 
abuses  God  for  prematurely  cutting  short  the  life  of  a  sin- 
gle generation.  This  is  another  example  of  the  scoffer's 
ignorance  of  God  and  the  Bible.  He  has  well  learned 
the  "subtle,"  thin,  and  lying  arts  of  his  devil-father,  to 
whom  he  pays  all  the  honor  in  his  power  and  commits 
the  same  degree  of  detraction  from  the  character  of  God 
his  Maker. 

No  doubt  the  oldest  devil  of  the  family  smiles  in  his 
sleeve  at  the  childishness  and  devotion  of  this,  his  young- 
est grandson.  But  now  let  us  hear  God's  accusation  and 
complaint  of  the  antediluvian  generation  of  men  who 
perished  by  the  flood,  and  we  shall  see  whether  it  was  not 
just  to  destroy  it,  and  whether  the  transaction  cannot  be 
vindicated.  "  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  men  began  to 
multiply  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  daughters  were 
born  unto  them,  that  the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters 
of  men,  that  they  were  fair  ;  and  they  took  them  wives  of 
all  which  they  chose.  [It  was  Utah.]  And  the  T>ord  said, 
My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with  men,  yet  his  days 


Il8  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

shall  be  [but]  an  hundred  and  twenty  years.  And  God 
saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth, 
and  that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart 
was  only  evil,  and  that  continually.  And  it  repented  the 
Lord  that  he  had  made  man  on  the  earth,  and  it  grieved 
him  at  his  heart.  And  the  Lord  said,  I  will  destroy  man, 
whom  I  have  created,  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  The 
earth  also  was  corrupt  before  God,  and  filled  with  vio- 
lence ;  for  all  flesh  had  corrupted  his  way  before  God." 
[Such  was  the  character  of  those  whom  Ingersoll  calls  the 
innocent  women — the  fair  and  the  beautiful.]  ''  And 
God  said  unto  Noah,  The  end  of  all  flesh  is  come  before 
me  ;  for  the  earth  is  filled  with  violence  through  them." 
[There  have  been  outbursts  of  violence  at  times  in  all  gen- 
erations, but  among  this  generation  it  was  universal — 
"  every  imagination  of  their  hearts  was  continually  evil."] 
''  And,  behold,  I,  even  I,  do  bring  a  flood  upon  the  earth, 
to  destroy  all  flesh,  wherein  is  the  breath  of  life,  from  un- 
der heaven  ;  and  all  flesh  died  that  moved  upon  the 
earth,  every  man,  in  whose  nostrils  was  the  breath  of  life, 
all  that  was  in  the  dry  land,  died."  (Gen.  6  and  7.) 

In  the  New  Testament  we  have  such  references  to 
the  character  of  these  people  as  the  following:  ''For 
if  God  spared  not  the  old  world,  but  saved  Noah  the 
eighth  person,  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  bringing  in 
the  flood  upon  the  world  of  the  ungodly"  (2  Pet.  2  : 
5) — "  which  sometime  were  disobedient,  when  once 
the  long-suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of  Noah, 
while  the  ark  was  preparing,  wherein  few,  that  is,  eight 
souls,  were  saved."  (i  Pet.  3  :  20.)  "  For  as  the  days 
of  Noah  were,  so  shall  also  the  days  of  the.  coming 
of  the  Son  of  man  be.  They  were  eating  and  drinking, 
marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that 
Noah  entered  into  the  ark,  and  knew  not ' '  [because 
they  did  not  take  heed  to  the  preaching  of  Noah]  ''  until 
the  flood  came,  and  took  them  all  away  ;  so  shall  also 
the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be."  (Matt.  24:  37-39.) 
Here  we  have  the  evidence,  showing  a  condition  of  uni- 
versal disobedience  and  heartfelt  hatred  of  God  by  his 
creatures.     God  had  given  them  a  hundred  and  twenty 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  II9 

years'  probation  after  he  had  determined  on  their  destruc- 
tion, during  which  he  had  sent  the  only  preacher  of 
righteousness  in  all  the  earth,  to  give  the  warning  of  the 
coming  destruction  ;  but  in  all  that  time  the  warning  did 
not  induce  a  single  man  or  woman  to  repent — universal 
unbehef  and  infidehty  prevailed,  in  addition  to  universal 
corruption. 

The  Wickedness  of  the  Antediluvians  Necessitated  their 
Destruction. 

God  had  created  these  people  to  please  and  obey 
him,  which  power  carried  with  it  the  power  to  disobey 
and  displease ;  consequently  their  very  existence  put 
him  to  grief.  Not  another  loving,  loyal  subject  for 
his  immortal  world  could  he  induce  to  become  such 
from  among  that  generation  ;  and  how  would  such 
teach  future  generations  what  they  did  not  know  and 
hated  themselves? — the  eventful  object  for  which  he 
had  created  mankind,  being  a  universal  and  endless 
government  of  righteous  men  and  women  covering  the 
face  of  the  world.  But  the  continuation  of  this  state 
of  things  rendered  the  accomplishment  of  that  end  an 
impossibility.  He  must,  therefore,  abandon  the  sole  pur- 
pose for  which  he  made  the  world,  or  destroy  the  whole 
generation,  and  commence  anew  with  eight  righteous 
people. 

God  must  be  true  to  his  Friends  a?id  Promises. 

As  long  as  a  nation  or  world  of  men  are  mixed,  the 
good  mingling  with  the  bad  —  occasionally  the  good 
inducing  one  of  the  bad  to  become  reconciled  to  the 
disposition  and  laws  of  God — he  spares  that  people, 
because  they  serve  to  answer  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
loving,  loyal  subjects  for  his  projected  universal,  endless 
empire.  But  when  all  become  evil,  then  he  must  de- 
stroy them  by  some  catastrophe  equal  to  the  emergency  ; 
and  this  must  be  executed  in  the  present  world  as  exem- 
plary, although  it  involves  the  whole  of  mankind.     Not  to 


I20  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

do  it  would  subject  himself  and  his  loyal  people  to  the 

tyrannical  rule  of,  and  extinguishment  by,  his  and  their 

enemies,  thus  also  exhibiting  a  pusillanimity  degrading 

in  an  ordinary  ruler,  and  utterly  incompatible  with  the 

Rightful  Ruler  of  the  universe.      Not  to  do  it  he  must 

prove  false  to  his  solemn  engagements  and  promises  to 

his   faithful    and    loving    children.      In  a  word,  not  to 

brinsr  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  to  an  end,  whether 

... 
of  angelic  or    human    origin,  would    be    to    fail    in  his 

revealed  purpose  for  which  he  made  the  world  and 
man,  falsifying  himself  in  the  sight  of  all  his  faithful 
saints  and  angels ;  rendering  it  thereafter  impossible 
that  he  should  be  trusted,  venerated,  loved,  or  obeyed 
from  the  heart. 

But  had  we  not  one  of  these  arguments  of  defence 
for  the  act  of  flooding  the  world,  it  would  be  enough 
to  know  of  the  fact  that  it  was  done ;  and  to  question 
the  right  or  motive  of  him  who  did  it,  is  to  assume 
that  an  absolute  owner  and  proprietor  may  not  do  as 
he  pleases  with  his  own,  at  least  so  long  as  he  does 
not  violate  any  promise  or  obligation  to  another.  It 
is  true  that  the  rebels  thus  to  be  disposed  of  may 
complain  and  threaten  vengeance,  just  as  the  antedi- 
luvians did  when  the  flood  came,  and  while  its  waters 
were  covering  them,  after  climbing  the  tallest  trees  and 
highest  mountains;  but  the  waters  rose  just  the  same, 
and  instead  of  the  Creator  suff"ering  by  the  flood,  he 
was  at  once  delivered  of  the  long-suffering  to  which 
the  wicked  had  subjected  him.  ''  Well,"  says  IngersoU, 
and  the  rest  of  his  self-chosen  devil  companions,  ''I  will 
not  serve  such  a  God."  Then  you  must  take  the  alterna- 
tive, hate  on,  and  perish  !  Others  will  serve,  love,  and 
obey  him,  with  the  utmost  confidence  that  righteousness, 
justice,  and  truth  shall  triumph  in  precisely  the  same 
perfection  and  universality  as  though  a  sinner  never  had 
lived. 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  121 


Universal  Belief  in  Devils  Argues  their  Existence. 

Says  Ingersoll :  ''AH  ages  and  nations  supposed  that 
the  sick  and  insane  were  possessed  of  evil  spirits.  For 
thousands  of  ages  the  practice  of  medicine  consisted  in 
frightening  these  spirits  away."  [This  is  a  fair  sample  of 
this  man's  exaggeration.  As  to  its  chronology,  there 
have  existed  but  two  hundred  ages  of  men,  instead  of 
thousands,  taking  the  average  life  as  defining  the  term, 
which  is  not  more  than  thirty  years.  To  call  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  the  frightening  away  of  evil  spirits  shows 
ignorance  of  the  subject.  In  the  history  of  the  healing 
art,  such  things  were  only  the  exceptions,  and  then 
but  among  the  rudest  tribes ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why 
they  found  place  in  mythological  narration.  There  never 
was  a  nation  or  tribe  so  ignorant  or  rude  that  they  did 
not  use  roots  and  herbs  as  medicine ;  especially  was  this 
true  of  the  nations  of  biblical  record.  So  common  v/as 
it,  that  it  is  made  a  symbol  of  backsliding  Israel,  thus  : 
''Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead  ?  is  there  no  physician 
there?  why  then  is  the  health  of  the  daughter  of  my 
people  not  recovered?  "  (Jer.  8  :  22.)  "  Usually,"  says 
the  scoffer,  "  the  priests  would  make  the  loudest  and 
most  discordant  noises  possible.  They  would  blow 
horns,  beat  upon  rude  drums,  clash  cymbals,  and  in 
the  meantime  utter  the  most  unearthly  yells.  If  the 
noise  remedy  failed,  they  would  implore  the  aid  of 
some  more  powerful  spirits.  To  pacify  these  spirits 
was  considered  of  infinite  importance.  The  poor  bar- 
barian, knowing  that  men  could  be  softened  by  gifts, 
gave  the  spirits  that  which  seemed  to  him  of  great  value. 
With  bursting  heart  he  would  offer  the  blood  of  his 
dearest  child."  [Who  supposes  that  this  man  ever  read 
such  a  nonsensical  story  as  this,  that  the  heart-bursting 
father,  on  account  of  having  a  sick  member  in  his  fam- 
ily, had  called  his  priest  to  heal  him,  and  that  the 
priest  should  demand,  as  the  price  for  healing  the  sick 
one,  the  blood  (death)  of  his  dearest  child,  and  that 
the  thoughtless  Ingersoll  should   have   told   the  foolish 


122  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

story  in  public?]  "It  was  impossible  for  him  to  conceive 
of  a  God  utterly  unlike  himself."  [In  harmony  with 
this,  we  may  say  that  the  God  the  Bible  reveals  is  the 
very  image  of  man's  person,  and  it  is  only  the  atheists 
who  try  to  conjure  an  impersonality  so  unlike  everything 
in  nature,  or  conceivable,  that  it  is  superstition  to  believe 
and  worship  him.  Of  course  it  is  an  easy  victory  to  cast 
down  the  straw  god  they  have  erected.]  "  And  he 
naturally  supposed  that  these  powers  of  the  air  would 
be  affected  at  the  sight  of  so  great  and  deep  a  sorrow. ' ' 
One  of  the  meanest  things  about  Ingersoll  is,  that  when 
talking  of  heathen  gods  and  barbarian  practices  of  relig- 
ion, he  uses  Scripture  expressions,  as  here  (Christ  called 
Satan  ''  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  "),  his  object 
evidently  being  to  degrade  Scripture  and  Christianity 
by  confounding  them  with  the  lowest  forms  of  heathen- 
ism. To  expose  and  counteract  the  injury  of  the  satanic 
scheme,  it  is  only  necessary  to  refer  to  the  historic  fact 
that  the  worship  of  God,  with  its  ministers,  sacrifices, 
objects,  and  conditions,  was  established  at  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  and  when  there  were  only  three  men  living  ; 
and  that  Abel  had  as  clear  conceptions  of  the  Christian 
religion  and  its  salvation  as  did  Paul ;  consequently  all 
other  forms  and  elements  of  worship  are  corruptions  of 
the  original.  This,  having  been  taught  to  Cain  and  Abel 
by  the  Creator  himself,  is  the  genuine,  while  all  others 
are  counterfeits.  Their  existence,  however,  demonstrates 
that  of  the  original,  and  their  universality  also  proves  the 
original  to  have  been  designed  for  all  mankind. 

Remember  these  things,  and  the  efforts  of  the  scoffer 
will  not  only  be  destroyed  for  evil,  but  will  furnish  unan- 
swerable argument  in  defence  of  revealed  religion,  which 
he  hopes  to  degrade,  and  of  the  existence  and  doom  of  all 
the  human  and  angelic  devils,  whose  only  happiness  con- 
sists in  their  opposition  to  God  and  his  worship.  The 
scoffer  says  :  ''It  was  with  the  barbarian  then  as  with 
the  civilized  now ;  one  class  lived  upon  and  made  mer- 
chandize of  the  fears  of  another. ' '  [Just  as  you  are  making 
money  by  your  professed  attempts  to  deliver  others  from 
the  fear  of  God.]     ''  Certain  persons  took  it  upon  them- 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  1 23 

selves  to  appease  the  gods,  and  to  instruct  the  people  in 
their  duties  to  these  unseen  powers.  This  was  the  origin 
of  the  priesthood."  [No,  sir  !  here  is  your  ignorance 
manifest  again,  both  in  history  and  common  sense.  The 
principal  office  of  a  priest  is  to  offer  sacrifice,  and  God 
himself  originated  the  priesthood  when  he  instructed 
Cain  and  Abel  to  offer  the  sacrificial  lamb,  the  firstling  of 
his  flock — the  typic  Christ  thus  virtually  and  in  revelation 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  this  with  the  ob- 
lation of  the  first-fruits  of  the  harvest,  the  type  of  his 
resurrection — ''  Christ  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept." 
(i  Cor.  15  :  23.)]  ''The  priest  pretended  to  stand  be- 
tween the  wrath  of  the  gods  and  helpless  man.  He  carried 
to  the  invisible  world  a  flag  of  truce,  a  protest  and  a  re- 
quest." [This  is  the  corruption  which  the  corrupt  scoffer 
always  sees  because  he  desires  it — the  wish  is  father  to  the 
thought.  The  true,  pure,  and  original  is  that  "God  so 
loved  the  world  "  of  mankind,  and  to  make  it  manifest  to 
them  assumed  human  form,  in  which  to  be  born  and  in 
which  to  die  by  the  cross,  a  living  sacrifice,  and  which 
has  won  millions  of  men  to  love  him  in  turn,  and  to  sac- 
rifice their  lives  rather  than  offend  him  :  hence  we  read, 
''  Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of  God,  because  he  laid 
down  his  life  for  us :  and  we  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives 
for  the  brethren."  (i  John  3:  16.)  "We  love  him,  be- 
cause he  first  loved  us."  (i  John  4  :  19.)  Here  we  see 
how  the  scoffer  burlesques  the  great  truth  of  Christ's  love 
and  sacrifice,  and  its  perfect  success  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  designed  and  revealed  purpose  :  "To  wit, 
that  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  him- 
self." (2  Cor.  5  :  19.)  Not  two  parties,  one  with  a  flag 
of  truce,  reconciling  a  third  ;  not  that  Christ  went  into 
another  world  to  appease  the  wrath  of  another  God,  but 
came  into  this  world  and  sacrificed  his  life  to  show  the 
love  of  the  only  God  for  man,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
winning  him  in  turn  to  love  him.  Behold  how  IngersoU 
requites  it !  See  how  he  confounds  the  corrupt  with  the 
incorrupt,  the  lie  with  the  truth.]  "  He  came  back  with 
a  command,  authority,  and  power.  Man  fell  upon  his 
knees  before  his  own  servant,  and  the  priest,  taking  the 


124  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

advantage  of  the  awe  inspired  by  his  supposed  influence 
with  the  gods,  made  of  his  fellow-man  a  cringing  hypo- 
crite and  a  slave."  [Such  is  the  man's  conception  of 
liberty — that  freedom  from  guilt  makes  a  man  a  slave.] 
''Even  Christ,  the  supposed  Son  of  God,  taught  that 
persons  were  possessed  of  evil  spirits."  [If  the  scoffer  did 
not  give  false  glossary  he  would  have  nothing  to  say  upon 
these  subjects.  Christ  found  people  thus  possessed,  and 
cast  the  devils  out,  as  matters  of  fact.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  argue  that  men  are  even  now  possessed  of  evil  spirits, 
for  if  they  hear  or  read  Ingersoll's  blasphemy  about 
Christ,  they  would  have  abundant  evidence  to  show  the 
fact.]  ' '  According  to  the  account,  Christ  gave  proof  of  his 
divine  origin  and  mission  by  frightening  droves  of  devils 
out  of  his  unfortunate  countrymen.  Casting  out  devils 
was  his  principal  employment,  and  the  devils  thus  ban- 
ished took  occasion  to  acknowledge  him  as  the  Mes- 
siah." [That  Christ  made  casting  out  devils  a  test  of  his 
divine  mission  is  lie  No.  i.  That  casting  out  devils  was 
his  principal  employment  is  lie  No.  2.  That  the  devils 
generally  acknowledged  him  to  be  the  Messiah  is  lie  No. 
3.  Never  did  any  but  one  do  this.  We  learn  from  such 
statements  that  when  IngersoU  says  ''generally"  it  may 
mean  but  a  single  case,  and  this  is  the  estimate  we  must 
put  upon  his  pretended  historic  references.]  "  The  re- 
ligious people  have  always  regarded  the  testimony  of 
devils  as  perfectly  conclusive ;  and  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament  quote  the  words  of  these  imps  of  darkness 
with  great  satisfaction."  [Here  are  more  glossary  lies. 
The  New  Testament  writers  quote  them  but  as  historic 
statements,  and  Christian  people  believe  the  testimony 
concerning  devils,  as  Christ  speaks  of  them  thus:  "  The 
devil  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  abode  not 
in  the  truth,  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him.  When  he 
speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh  of  his  own  :  for  he  is  a  liar, 
and  the  father  of  it."  (John  8  :  44.)  If  IngersoU  had 
said  the  human  servants  of  the  devil  always  believe  and 
obey  him,  it  would  have  been  conclusive  at  least  so  far  as 
he  is  concerned.]  "  The  fact  that  Christ  could  with- 
stand the  temptation  of*  the  devil  was  considered  conclu- 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  125 

sive  evidence  that  he  was  assisted  by  some  god,  at  least 
by  some  being  superior  to  man."  [Here  he  attempts  to 
confound  God  with  the  devil,  but  nothing  is  too  scurrilous 
for  him  to  attempt.]  "  St.  Matthew  gives  an  account  of 
an  attempt  made  by  the  devil  to  tempt  the  supposed  Son 
of  God  ;  and  it  has  always  excited  the  wonder  of  Chris- 
tians that  the  temptation  was  so  nobly  and  heroically 
withstood." 

[This  is  another  misrepresentation  ;  for  no  Christian 
writer  can  be  produced  who  believed  it  was  possible  that 
Christ  could  have  committed  the  sin  of  yielding  to  the 
temptation  ;  but  as  the  lie  subserves  his  devil-purpose  of 
degrading  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  he  tells  it.]  "  In  the 
olden  times  the  existence  of  devils  was  universally  ad- 
mitted." [There  are  as  many  people  who  believe  in  the 
existence  of  evil  spirits  at  the  present  day  as  ever  before. 
The  reason,  it  seems,  why  he  makes  such  an  allusion  is  to 
put  a  high  estimate  upon  his  efforts  in  banishing  the  be- 
lief, that  his  admirers  may  not  suppose  the  money  they 
pay  him  for  doing  the  missionary  work  is  misspent.] 

'^  The  people  had  no  doubt  upon  the  subject.  From 
such  belief  it  follows,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  a  person, 
in  order  to  vanquish  these  devils,  had  either  to  be  a  god 
or  assisted  by  one.  All  forms  of  religion  have  estab- 
lished their  claims  to  divine  origin  by  controlling  evil 
spirits,  and  suspending  the  laws  of  nature.  Casting  out 
devils  was  a  certificate  of  divinity."  [So  far  as  the 
Christian  religion  is  concerned,  this  is  untrue,  for  it  was 
founded  by  God  himself  in  the  Eden  world  ;  and  when 
Christ  came  he  established  his  claim  to  divinity  by  the 
facts  that  his  birth,  life,  death,  and  resurrection  was  each 
associated  with  such  peculiar  and  concurring  events  that 
characterized  those  of  no  other  man,  and  all  of  which 
were  of  prehistoric  or  prophetic  record.  Nothing  is 
more  evident  than  that  Ingersoll  makes  history  and  facts 
to  suit  his  Satanic  purposes.] 

"  A  prophet  unable  to  cope  with  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness was  regarded  with  contempt."  [Another  false  slan- 
der upon  the  holy  prophets  of  Scripture,  not  one  of  whom 
ever  attempted  to  cope  with  anyone  in  the  work  of  cast- 


126  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

ing  out  devils — indeed,  an  archangel  dared  not  railingly 
accuse  the  devil.  '*Yet  Michael,  the  archangel,  when 
contending  with  the  devil  about  the  body  of  Moses,  durst 
not  bring  against  him  a  railing  accusation,  but  said,  The 
Lord  rebuke  thee."  (Jude  9.)]  He  says,  "The  utter- 
ance of  the  highest  and  noblest  sentiments,  the  most 
blameless  and  holy  Hfe,  commanded  but  little  respect 
unless  accompanied  by  the  power  to  work  miracles  and 
command  spirits. ' '  [Here  we  have  a  general  misrepre- 
sentation and  effusion  of  biographical  ignorance,  the  fact 
being  that  IngersoU  knows  of  no  idolatrous  prophet  in 
history,  even  mythological,  whose  hfe  was  blameless  and 
holy,  and  who  was  but  little  respected  because  not  hav- 
ing the  power  to  command  spirits,  as  there  are  none ;  and 
he  must  refer  to  the  prophets  whom  God  selected  and  in- 
spired to  write  the  Holy  Scriptures — and  this  is  what 
made  them  prophets — all  of  whom  were  men  of  blameless 
and  holy  character,  and  whose  record  shows  they  never 
had,  nor  claimed  to  have,  the  power  to  command  spirits 
or  work  miracles,  or  even  to  cast  out  devils — running  all 
the  way  back  to  Enoch,  God's  first  prophet,  and  the  sev- 
enth person  born  into  the  world  from  Adam.  There  is 
but  one  period  of  mythological  record  or  reliable  his- 
tory, during  the  whole  of  which  the  Pagan  priests  and 
prophets,  without  exception,  were  lying  deceivers,  impos- 
ing alike  on  kings  and  subjects.  Failing  to  make  the 
distinction  between  them  and  the  prophets  of  biblical 
record  which  the  facts  of  history  and  common  honesty 
required,  IngersoU  identifies  himself  with  the  lying 
priests  of  heathenism.  Were  this  done,  not  a  shadow  of 
reflection  would  have  attached  to  the  records  of  Holy 
Scripture  touching  the  character  of  God's  prophets;  but 
to  "have  done  this  would  have  destroyed  his  craft.  Take 
away  his  lies  and  false  glossary  of  sacred  Scripture  and 
its  approved  characters,  the  scoffer  would  be  as  dumb  as 
a  mute  for  harm,  and  no  sensible  man  or  woman  would 
allow  him  to  prejudice  their  minds  against  the  Bible, 
and  would  leave  him  ranked,  as  he  merits,  among  the 
lying  wonders  of  devildom.] 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  12/ 


Inge rs oil's  Rant  about  Prayer. 

The  scoffer  says,  ''The  foolish  doctrine  that  all  phe- 
nomena can  be  traced  to  the  interference  of  good  and 
bad  spirits,  has  been,  and  still  is,  almost  universally  en- 
tertained. That  people  still  believe  in  some  spirit  that 
can  change  the  natural  order  of  events,  is  proven  by  the 
fact  that  nearly  all  resort  to  prayer.  Thousands  at  this 
very  moment  are  probably  imploring  some  supposed 
power  to  interfere  in  their  behalf.  Some  want  health 
restored ;  some  ask  that  the  loved  and  absent  be  watched 
over  and  protected ;  some  pray  for  riches ;  some  for 
rain  ;  some  vainly  ask  for  food  ;  some  ask  for  revivals  ;  a 
few  ask  for  more  wisdom  ;  and  now  and  then  one  tells 
the  Lord  to  do  as  he  may  think  best.  Thousands  ask  to 
be  protected  from  the  devil ;  some,  like  David,  pray  for 
revenge ;  and  some  implore  even  God  not  to  lead  them 
into  temptation.  All  these  prayers  rest  upon,  and  are 
produced,  by  the  idea  that  some  power  not  only  can,  but 
probably  will,  change  the  order  of  things  in  the  uni- 
verse. This  belief  has  been  among  the  great  majority  of 
tribes  and  nations.  All  sacred  books  are  filled  with  ac- 
counts of  such  interferences,  and  our  own  Bible  is  not  an 
exception  to  the  rule. ' ' 

Thus,  in  his  ignorant  conceit  and  silly  freethought  has 
Ingersoll  demolished  the  whole  subject  of  God's  provi- 
dence !  When  John  Milton  was  about  to  write  upon  the 
subject,  and  feehng  his  inability  to  do  it  justice,  he  uttered 
the  following  prayer  :  ''  What  in  me  is  dark,  illumine; 
what  is  low,  raise  and  support  ;  that  to  the  height  of  this 
great  argument,  I  may  assert  eternal  Providence,  and  jus- 
tify the  ways  of  God  to  man. ' '  Here  the  scoffer  confounds 
the  Bible  with  other  religious  books ;  and  were  it  not  his 
hatred  to  this,  not  a  word  of  protest  would  he  have  uttered 
against  any  other  so-called  sacred  book.  The  scoffer  had 
no  right  to  say,  ''  Nearly  all  the  tribes  and  nations  be- 
lieved in  a  power  above  man  to  whom  all  might  apply  for 
help,"  for  there  is  no  authentic  record  of  any  tribe  of  men, 
however  rude,  who  did  not  believe  thus,  and  thus  pray. 


128  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

It  is  a  philosophical  necessity  that  some  power  equal  to 
the  creation  of  the  world  must  have  interfered  to  do  the 
work  of  establishing  its  working  order.  As  man  is  the 
superior  department  of  nature,  and  as  he  is  not  finished, 
but  according  to  the  order  of  nature  demands  a  re-crea- 
tion ;  and  that  re-creation  contemplates  this  change  to  be 
wrought  in  the  nature  of  each  individual  while  living  on 
the  earth,  beginning  with  the  first  and  ending  with  the 
last,  and  is  a  work  which  none  but  the  Creator  is  able  to 
perform,  demands  his  direct  interference  in  each  case.  It 
is  described  in  Scripture  by  the  use  of  such  language  as 
this  :  ''  For  we  are  his  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Je- 
sus unto  good  works,  w^iich  God  hath  before  ordained." 
Thus  was  it  in  his  plan  as  a  part,  and  the  most  important 
part,  of  the  creation  of  the  world.  The  condition  upon 
which  God  proposes  to  do  this  work  in  the  nature  of 
any  man,  is  humble,  penitent  prayer.  If,  therefore,  God 
should  not  thus  interfere,  this  fundamental  work  of  crea- 
tion would  never  be  accomplished,  and  he  would  not 
have  a  subject  in  his  kingdom,  heartily  sympathizing 
with  his  will  and  manner  of  work. 

Do  Personal  Devils  Exist  ? 

In  the  first  place,  we  argue  the  existence  of  a  personal 
devil,  and  devilish  interference  with  men,  from  the  fact 
of  its  universal  belief.  It  is  a  principle  in  mental  philos- 
ophy, that  if  a  thing  be  a  fact  at  all,  it  is  a  universal  fact. 
Another  principle  of  science  is  that  belief  is  the  re- 
sult of  conviction — conviction  of  con*ception,  and  con- 
ception presupposes  the  possible  existence  of  the  thing 
conceived,  or  that  which  is  essentially  like  it.  According 
to  these  laws  and  their  application  to^the  case  in  hand, 
the  devil  must  exist,  in  order  to  make  a  conception  of 
him  possible.  Such  a  conception  must  exist  in  order  to 
have  produced  the  conviction  of  such  existence.  The 
conviction  must  have  existed  in  order  to  have  rendered 
the  belief  possible.  These  interdepending  factors  in  the 
process  of  reasoning  force  the  evidence  for  the  belief, 
and  demonstrate  the  fact  that  the  belief  is  and  must  be 


THE    GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  1 29 

founded  upon  evidence ;  of  course,  unbelief  is  the  absence 
of  evidence,  and  is  equivalent  to  total  ignorance  upon 
the  subject.  If,  therefore,  a  man  says,  I  do  not  believe 
in  the  existence  of  a  personal  God,  he  virtually  admits 
entire  ignorance  upon  the  subject.  Hence  his  opinion 
concerning  it,  or  whatever  he  says  about  it,  is  worthless. 
If  he  says,  I  do  not  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  personal 
devil,  for  the  same  reason  he  admits  total  ignorance  upon 
the  subject.  In  both  cases,  and  every  similar  one,  he  should 
have  said,  I  do  not  know  ;  I  am  entirely  ignorant  concern- 
ing the  matter,  and  therefore  have  no  belief  or  unbelief 
about  it.  This  philosophy  involves  the  following  con- 
clusions :  First :  If  a  thing,  or  a  discourse  relating  to  a 
thing,  is  believed,  it  is  upon  that  which  appears  to  be 
evidence  at  the  time;  but  this  evidence  may  subsequently 
be  found  to  have  no  true  foundation,  and,  this  being  gone, 
the  belief  goes  with  it.  Now  the  man  is  ignorant  of  that 
which  he  supposed  to  be  a  fact  of  existence. 

Every  sane  man  and  woman  has  the  conviction,  from 
experience  and  observation,  that  all  are  guilty  of  acts 
which  cannot  be  justified  by  any  standard  of  which  they 
have  any  knowledge,  or  defended  by  any  process  of  rea- 
soning. This  would  seem  to  imply  that  they  were  moved 
to  the  commission  of  such  acts  by  some  unseen  power. 
The  goodness  of  God  as  read  in  the  endowments  of  our 
being  for  happiness,  enhanced  by  the  surrounding  boun- 
ties of  nature,  cannot  have  originated  from  the  same 
source  which  prompted  the  acts  of  violence  against  our- 
selves and  society,  and  which  only  conduce  to  shame  and 
misery. 

In  order  to  defend  the  position  of  the  non-existence 
of  the  devil,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  such  a  com- 
prehensive knowledge  of  demonology  that  would  enable 
its  possessor  to  account  for  every  phase  of  its  phenomena 
upon  reasonable  grounds — such  as  the  origin  of  evil 
without  the  existence  of  an  evil  being ;  that  the  Script- 
ures are  not  true  which  teach  the  existence  of  a  personal 
devil ;  that  the  statements  of  the  Bible  upon  the  subject  of 
sin  do  not  corroborate  those  of  observation  and  experi- 
ence, concerning  the  nature  of  evil  and  temptation. 
4 


130  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 


Biblical  History  of  the  Devil. 

But  as  to  the  history  and  power  of  the  devil,  and  his 
personaHty  as  a  sequence,  we  propose  to  expound  the 
Scriptures  upon  the  subject,  and  with  the  reasonable 
expectation  of  benefiting  those  who  desire  to  know  the 
truth.  The  first  we  hear  of  the  devil  is  in  the  garden  of 
Eden,  and  the  account  was  written  thousands  of  years 
before  any  other  book  existed,  consequently  every  other 
subsequent  account  is  an  exact  copy  or  a  corrupt  one, 
either  as  a  whole  or  a  part ;  consequently  all  devilism 
must  be  corrected  by  this  first  account.  ' '  Now  the 
serpent  was  more  subtle  than  any  bfeast  of  the  field  which 
the  Lord  God  had  made ;  and  he  said  unto  the  woman, 
Yea  !  hath  God  said,  ye  shall  not  eat  of  every  tree  of  the 
garden  ?  And  the  woman  said  unto  the  serpent,  We  may 
eat  of  the  trees  of  the  garden  ;  but  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  God  hath  said.  Ye 
shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye  die. 
And  the  serpent  said  unto  the  woman.  Ye  shall  not  surely 
die :  for  God  doth  know  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof, 
then  your  eyes  shall  be  opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods, 
knowing  good  and  evil.  And  when  the  woman  saw  that 
the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and  that  it  was  pleasant  to  the 
eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,  she  took 
of  the  fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat ;  and  gave  also  unto  her 
husband  with  her  ;  and  he  did  eat.  And  the  eyes  of  them 
both  were  opened,  and  they  knew  that  they  were  naked. 
[Here  was  shame,  the  result  of  sin  and  of  the  devil's  he, 
realized — they  were  covered  with  shame  instead  of  be- 
coming gods.]  And  they  sewed  fig-leaves  together,  and 
made  them  aprons.  And  they  heard  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  God  walking  in  the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day 
[as  he  was  walking  thus]  :  and  Adam  and  his  wife  hid 
themselves  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  God  amongst 
the  trees  of  the  garden.  [Here  was  the  effect  of  the  second 
lie  of  the  devil — that  they  would  become  wise  by  obeying 
him,  instead  of  which  they  immediately  lost  so  much  of 
the  knowledge  of  God,  that  they  thought  they  could  hide 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  131 

from  his  presence  among  the  trees.]  And  the  Lord  God 
called  imto  Adam,  and  said,  Where  art  than  ?  And  he 
said,  I  heard  thy  voice  in  the  garden,  and  I  was  afraid, 
because  I  was  naked  ;  and  hid  myself.  And  he  said,  Who 
told  thee  that  thou  wast  naked  ?  Hast  thou  eaten  of  the 
tree,  whereof  I  commanded  thee  that  thou  shouldest  not 
eat  ?  And  the  man  said.  The  woman  whom  thou  gavest 
me  to  be  with  me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I  did 
eat.  And  the  Lord  God  said  unto  the  woman.  What  is 
this  that  thou  hast  done?  and  the  woman  said,  The 
serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did  eat.  [Now  she  saw, 
when  it  was  too  late  to  avert  the  calamity,  the  deception 
of  the  lying  serpent,  and  began  to  experience  its  sad 
effects.]  And  the  Lord  God  said  unto  the  serpent.  Be- 
cause thou  hast  done  this,  thou  art  cursed  above  all  cat- 
tle, and  above  every  beast  of  the  field ;  upon  thy  belly 
shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the  days  of  thy 
life,  and  I  will  put  enmity  between  thy  seed  and  her 
seed  ;  it, shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his 
heel."     (Gen.  3  :  1-15.) 

What  zaas  the  Serpent  ? 

We  remark,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  serpent  was  not 
what  we  call  a  snake.  He  is  here  ranked  among  the  cat- 
tle and  beasts  of  the  field,  which  we  always  contrast  with 
crawling  and  creeping  things.  As  an  illustration,  we  read  : 
*'  Every  kind  of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  and  of  serpents,"  etc. 
The  serpent  was  one  of  the  beasts  which  God  had  made. 
There  are  two  facts  here  taught,  which  furnish  very 
strong  evidence  to  show  that  this  beast  was  one  of  the 
monkey  tribes  or  species.  That  he  was  thenceforth  to 
go  upon  his  belly  shows  that,  before  this,  he  must  have 
walked  upright ;  which  a  snake  could  not  do.  The 
physiological  structure  of  the  monkey  shows  that  his 
natural  locomotion  was  upright.  Indeed,  the  quadruped 
motion  of  the  monkey  appears  as  awkward  and  unnatu- 
ral as  for  man  to  go  on  his  all-fours,  as  we  say  of  the 
creeping  of  babes  ;  like  man  it  has  long  legs,  shorter  arms 
or   fore-legs,   large   thighs,  and  slender  shoulders,   all  of 


132  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

which  fit  it  for  upright  gait.  The  pronounced  doom, 
changing  this  attitude,  was  not  On  thy  belly  shalt  thou 
crawl  (as  a  snake),  but  shalt  go  (as  we  say  of  a  man 
when  thus  moving).  The  expression,  ''  Dust  shall  be  thy 
meat,"  comprehends  the  chemical  properties  composing 
vegetable  soil.  Adam  was  made  out  of  this  :  *'  And  the 
Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground."  The 
serpent's  diet,  being  thus  extensive,  admits  of  no  objection 
as  to  what  the  monkey  eats,  because  it  is  identical  with 
the  meat  of  snakes  and  men. 


Wisdom  of  the  Serpent  and  Faculty  of  Speech. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  the  wisdom  of  man  is 
shown  in  his  faculty  of  speech,  and  this  implies  that  of 
forming  abstract  ideas — both  of  which  this  beast  possessed. 
It  is  well  known,  from  the  anatomical  structure  of  the 
mouth,  jaws,  tongue,  throat,  etc.,  that  the  monkey  pos- 
sesses the  organs  and  power  of  human  speech.  His  rea- 
soning faculties,  however,  but  poorly  compare  with  those 
of  man,  nor  did  he  manifest  profound  reasoning  on  this 
occasion,  and  before  his  degradation.  The  expression  is, 
*'  The  serpent  was  more  subtle  than  any  of  the  beasts  of 
the  field."  Subtle  means,  thin — not  dense;  as  subtle 
air,  subtle  vapor,  subtle  medium,  etc.  This  kind  of  wis- 
dom, is  the  contrivance  of  cunning,  mischievous  speech, 
with  but  little  regard  to  consequences.  All  of  which  are 
here  apparent  and  attributed  to  the  beast  himself;  and  he 
was  cursed  for  its  employment,  or  yielding  to  be  thus 
used:  "And  the  Lord  God  said  unto  the  serpent,  be- 
cause thou  hast  done  this  thou  art  cursed  above  all  cattle, 
and  above  every  beast  of  the  field."  All  the  beasts  of 
the  earth  were  involved  in  the  general  curse  now  about  to 
fall,  in  consequence  of  man's  disobedience  of  his  Maker's 
command — extending  to  the  very  ground  itself;  but 
among  the  cattle  and  beasts  of  the  field,  that  which  fell 
upon  the  serpent  was  the  heaviest.  He  lost  his  faculty  of 
speech,  and  this  implied  the  degradation  of  the  mental 
power  of  forming  ideas,  which  reduced  him  to  the  intel- 
lectual level  of  brute  knowledge,  besides  degrading  him 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  I33 

from  the  erect  gait  with  which,  among  all  the  other  ani- 
mals, he  was  honored  as  the  sole  associate  and  principal 
servant  of  man. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  this  monkey  and  his  mate 
were  the  primordial  of  the  whole  species,  and  therefore 
the  inherited  loss  was  transmitted  to  all  succeeding  gener- 
ations. It  is  also  easy  to  conceive  how  great  the  loss 
was  which  thus  fell  upon  man  himself  The  fleet-footed 
monkey,  his  physical  strength  and  power  of  out-door  ex- 
posure and  endurance,  with  his  knowledge  and  faculty  of 
speech,  and  yet  an  animal  servant  over  whom  man  was 
given  dominion,  would  have  been  of  incalculable  ben- 
efit to  mankind  in  the  business  relations  of  life.  Here, 
then,  we  have  the  beast  of  the  field — the  serpent,  as  God 
made  him,  before  and  after  his  curse. 


Who  was  the  Devil? 

We  come  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  question, 
Who  was  the  devil,  and  whence  his  origin  ?  That  there 
is  one  prominent,  personal  devil,  and  that  he  was  once  an 
angel,  is  as  clearly  taught  in  the  Scriptures  as  that  there 
are  angels  at  all,  and  that  they  are  of  a  higher  order  than 
man,  and  somewhat  of  a  different  being.  Some  of  these 
facts  are  stated  thus  :  "  And  the  angels  which  kept  not 
their  first  estate,  but  left  their  own  habitation,  he  hath  re- 
served in  everlasting  chains  under  darkness  unto  the  judg- 
ment of  the  great  day."  (Jude  6.)  Here  we  see  that 
there  was  a  plurality  involved  in  this  leaving,  and  there 
is  no  distinction  mentioned  as  existing  among  them  ;  but 
that  they  are  all  reserved  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great 
day.  We  have  seen  that  Christ  refers  to  him  as  being  a 
liar  from  the  beginning,  and  who  abode  not  in  the  truth. 
We  turn  now  to  a  passage  which  describes  the  execution 
of  the  destined  punishment  of  the  devil  at  the  judgment 
of  the  great  day,  and  which  distinguishes  one  of  them  as 
the  leader:  ''  Then  shall  he  [the  Son  of  man  and  Judge 
of  quick  and  dead]  say  unto  them  on  his  left  hand,  depart 
from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the 

THE  UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  MISSION  UBRMY 

lie    DnfArrifiA    MrhfO     Hftilf   Vflrip    97     y   V 


134  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

devil  and  his  angels."  (Matt.  25  :  41.)  From  the  time, 
therefore,  that  these  angels  left  their  own  former  abode 
and  chose  the  earth  in  preference,,  contrary  to  the  will  of 
God — and  this  is  what  made  them  devils — there  has  been 
a  devil,  who  is  a  fallen  angel,  having  other  angel-devils 
under  him,  and  who  are  to  continue  to  live  until  the  day 
of  judgment  appointed  to  take  place  at  the  end  of  the 
world ;  and  the  appointment  was  made  at  its  very  be- 
ginning. 

The  Location  of  the  Devil. 

The  location  of  the  devil  and  his  work  is  on  the  earth. 
This  is  clearly  shown  by  the  following  Scripture  :  "  Then 
Jesus  sent  the  multitude  away,  and  went  into  the  house  : 
and  his  disciples  came  unto  him,  saying.  Declare  unto  us 
the  parable  of  the  tares  of  the  field.  He  answered  and 
said  unto  him.  He  that  soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son 
of  man  ;  the  field  is  the  world ;  the  good  seed  are  the 
children  of  the  kingdom  :  but  the  tares  are  the  children 
of  the  wicked  one  ;  the  enemy  that  sowed  them  is  the 
devil ;  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world  ;  and  the 
reapers  are  the  angels.  [These  are  the  angels  who  con- 
tinued to  abide  in  the  truth,  and  did  not  leave  their  own 
habitation.]  As,  therefore,  the  tares  are  gathered  and 
burned  in  the  fire  ;  so  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of  this  world. 
The  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall 
gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things  that  offend,  and  them 
which  do  iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of 
fire  :  there  shall  be  w^ailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Then 
shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom 
of  their  father  [the  same  kingdom].  Who  hath  ears  to 
hear,  let  him  hear."  (Matt.  13  :  36-43.)  This  is  Christ's 
interpretation  of  his  own  parable,  and  therefore  leaves 
nothing  for  conjecture,  and  it  was  given  to  show  what 
the  kingdom  of  God  was  like,  and  shows  that  the  destined 
kingdom  is  the  world,  in  which  all  the  devils  and  offen- 
sive things  of  iniquity  exist,  and  out  of  which,  at  the  end 
of  this  world,  the  Son  of  man,  by  his  faithful  angels,  is  to 
gather  all  the  wicked,  devils  and  men,  out  of  the  field — 


THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  GOD.  1 35 

out  of  the  world,  out  of  his  kingdom — and  then  kindle  a 
furnace-lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  which  is  to  be  on  the 
earth  and  in  the  land  of  Idomea,  and  burn  them  up,  just 
as  the  husbandman  gathers  the  tares  out  of  his  field  and 
burns  them  in  the  fire. 

By  this  parable  Christ,  the  great  teacher,  condenses  the 
whole  subject  as  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  and  in  so  clear 
a  manner  that  leaves  no  room  for  honest  misunderstand- 
ing. "  The  earth  being  now  cleansed  of  all  offensive 
things,  Christ  takes  possession  and  sets  up  his  kingdom 
under  the  whole  heavens  —  the  new  heavens  and  new 
earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness."  (2  Pet.  3  :  13.) 
Now  the  immortal  saints  of  all  ages  shine  forth  in  the 
kingdom  of  their  Father.  Because  Ingersoll  cannot  find 
hell  existing  now,  he  makes  merry  over  the  discovery ; 
but  let  him  be  a  little  patient,  and  he  will  very  likely 
find  it,  to  his  sorrow. 

The  devil  is  sometimes  called  Satan,  which  means  an 
opposer  of  the  words  of  God  and  the  objects  he  seeks  to 
accomplish  with  man  and  the  world.  The  title  Satan  is 
not  confined  to  the  devil,  but  designates  men  and  all 
systems  of  religious  persecution  of  his  people.  For  oppos- 
ing his  words,  Jesus  said  to  Peter,  ''  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan  :  thou  art  an  offense  unto  me  :  for  thou  sayest  not 
the  things  that  be  of  God,  but  those  that  be  of  men." 
(Matt.  16  :  23.)  The  false,  persecuting  church  of  the  Rev- 
elation is  called  the  '^  place  where  Satan's  seat  is."  That 
the  theatre  of  the  devil's  locality  and  action  is  on  the 
earth,  is  also  shown  by  the  following  :  ''  Now  there  was 
a  day  when  the  sons  of  God  came  to  present  themselves 
before  the  Lord,  that  Satan  came  also  among  them.  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  whence  comest  thou  ?  Then 
Satan  answered  the  Lord,  and  said,  from  going  to  and 
fro  in  the  earth  [not  yet  in  hell],  and  from  walking  up 
and  down  in  it."  (Job  6  :  7.)  Here  is  the  devil  doing 
his  work  on  the  earth.  But  as  he  is  a  liar,  especially  when 
he  speaketh  of  himself,  we  cannot  trust  him  unless  his 
words  are  confirmed  by  a  better  witness,  and  this  we 
have  thus  :  ''Be  sober,  be  vigilant  ;  because  your  adver- 
sary the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about,  seeking 


136  ZOROASTER   A   THEIST. 

whom  he  may  devour  :  whom  resist  steadfast  in  the  faith, 
knowing  that  the  same  afflictions  are  accomphshed  in 
your  brethren  that  are  in  the  world."  (i  Pet.  5  :  8.) 
The  expression,  ''in  tlie  world,"  shows  the  place  of 
the  devil's  action,  and  the  whole  passage  declares  the 
work  of  the  devil  is  to  afflict  the  saints  of  God  in  the 
world. 

''  And  the  Lord  said,  Simon,  Simon,  behold  !  Satan 
hath  desired  to  have  you,  that  he  might  sift  you  as 
wheat."  (Luke  22:  31.)  ''Wherein  in  time  past  ye 
walked  according  to  the  course  of  this  world,  according 
to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now 
workethin  the  children  of  disobedience."  (Eph.  2  :  2.) 
Here  the  devil  is  called  "  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the 
air ;  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  devils. ' '  In  the  days  of 
Job  the  devil  had  power  over  atmospheric  elements, 
as  he  went  into  the  wilderness  and  raised  a  hurricane, 
with  which  he  killed  all  Job's  children,  by  blowing 
down  the  house  wherein  they  were  assembled.  He  also 
once,  in  common  with  all  the  angels,  had  the  mental 
power  over  the  gravity  of  atmospheric  pressure ;  by  an 
act  of  will  he  could  decrease  that  which  was  above  him 
and  increase  it  beneath,  and  thus  descend  and  ascend  into 
it  at  pleasure.  At  his  first  coming  Christ  deprived  Satan 
of  this  power  over  inanimate  elements,  so  that  he  was  no 
longer  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  ;  no  longer  could 
he  wield  the  winds  of  heaven  for  any  purpose  then, 
he  fell  from  heaven,  about  which  Christ  speaks  thus : 
''And  the  seventy  returned  again  with  joy,  saying, 
Lord,  even  the  devils  are  subject  unto  us  through 
thy  name.  And  he  said  unto  them,  I  beheld  Satan  as 
lightning  fall  from  heaven.  Behold  !  I  give  unto  you 
power  to  tread  on  serpents  and  scorpions,  and  over  all 
the  power  of  the  enemy  :  and  nothing  shall  by  any 
means  hurt  you.  Notwithstanding  in  this  rejoice  not, 
that  the  spirits  are  subject  unto  you  ;  but  rather  rejoice, 
because  your  names  are  written  in  heaven."  (Luke  10: 
17-20). 

Since  this  the  power  of  Satan  is  confined  to  the  earth, 
and,  in  his  broken  yet  wrathful  pride,  labors  under  the  re- 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OF   GOD.  137 

strictions — the  chains  of  darkness  ;  hopeless  dispair.  In 
this  condition  will  he  remain,  until  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day,  for  destruction. 

The  Devil  Awaiting  his  Destruction. 

The  doom  of  the  devil,  as  we  have  seen,  is  entirely 
different  from  that  of  the  serpent — the  beast  of  the  field, 
and,  upon  whom  the  punishment  fell  in  the  present  world, 
and  was  that  of  physical  degradation.  It  is  evident  that 
the  devil  is  a  fallen  angel,  and  of  so  superior  natural  struct- 
ure that  age  makes  no  mark  of  decay  on  it ;  and  having 
lived  six  thousand  years  of  health,  what  knowledge  he 
must  have  acquired  !  He  has  power  to  control  the  speech 
of  man  so  as  to  speak  through  his  organs,  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  any  purpose  of  deception.  If  the  devil  has 
such  power  over  the  human  mind,  he  had  it  over  the 
mind  of  the  serpent,  a  weaker  animal,  and  used  it  in  the 
garden  of  Eden,  and  spake  through  the  organs  of  the  ser- 
pent. In  this  transaction  the  following  passage  and  its 
Scriptural  connections  indicate  the  contest,  contestants, 
and  final  triumph  of  the  one  and  destruction  of  the  other  : 
'' And  I  [the  Lord]  will  put  enmity  between  thee  [the 
serpent]  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her 
seed  ;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his 
heel."  (Gen.  3  :  15.)  Christ  is  the  seed  of  the  woman, 
as  well  as  the  Son  of  man — not  by  any  natural  generation, 
for  this  he  did  not  have  ;  he  was  the  natural  Son  of  no 
man  or  woman  ;  but  the  birth  was  that  of  miraculously 
forming — making  and  creating  of  a  woman,  by  the  Crea- 
tor himself,  a  body  for  himself  like  that  of  man.  ''The 
Word  was  God,  and  the  Word  was  made  flesh  ;  and  that 
which  was  made  flesh  was  the  Son  of  God,  and  by  whom 
were  all  things  made  that  was  made."  ''Christ  made 
of  a  woman,"  and,  therefore,  "  The  seed  of  the  woman 
and  the  Son  of  Man." 

The  seed  of  the  .serpent  was  not  the  generations  of  the 
beast  of  the  field,  whose  progenitor  the  devil  tempted  in 
beguiling  Eve  ;  but  the  devil  with  his  subordinate  angels, 
whose  instruments  are  also  the  children  of  men — "Led 


138  ZOROASTER  A  THEIST. 

captive  by  Satan  at  his  will."  These  shall  bruise  the 
heel  of  Christ — make  war  against  him  and  his  church  in 
his  absence,  behind  his  back ;  bruise  his  heel,  but  Christ 
shall  bruise  Satan's  head  at  his  return.  Speaking  of  this, 
Paul  says  :  ''And  the  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under 
your  feet  shortly. "  (Rom.  16:  20.)  Of  this  destruction 
and  by  whom  it  is  to  be  executed,  Paul  also  speaks  thus  : 
''  Forasmuch  as  the  children  are  made  partakers  of  flesh 
and  blood  [our  nature]  he  also  himself  took  part  of  the 
same;  that  through  death  [Christ  passing  through  his 
death  and  resurrection]  he  might  destroy  him  that  had 
the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and  deliver  them 
who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject 
to  bondage."  (Heb.  2  :  14,  15.)  As  sure,  therefore,  ds 
Christ  died  and  did  not  remain  dead,  so  sure  will  he  de- 
stroy the  devil — so  sure  will  the  seed  of  the  woman  bruise 
his  head. 

That  the  devil  had  the  power  of  death  is  explained  thus  : 
"  Wherefore,  as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world, 
and  death  by  sin  ;  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  all 
have  sinned."  (Rom.  5  :  12.)  The  devil  used  the  ser- 
pent as  his  willing  instrument,  and  led  Adam  and  Eve 
into  sin.  Up  to  this  time  they  had  access  to  the  fruit  of 
the  tree  of  life,  which  God  had  endowed  with  the  chemi- 
cal properties  of  keeping  men  always  youthful,  thereby 
perpetuating  human  life  indefinitely.  But  now,  lest  he 
should  live  thus  in  sin,  he  saw  fit  to  deprive  him  of  the 
antidote  for  the  ravages  of  age  ;  and  immediately,  in  that 
very  day,  he  died — died  by  the  loss  of  the  means  for  pre- 
serving life.  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt 
surely  die."  ''And  the  Lord  God  said,  Behold!  the 
man  is  become  as  one  of  us  [us  means,  not  two  gods,  but 
one  God  with  the  two  titles.  Lord  God],  to  know  good 
and  evil.  And  now,  lest  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  take 
also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  eat,  and  live  forever  :  there- 
fore the  Lord  sent  him  forth  from  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
to  till  the  ground  from  whence  he  was  taken."  By  this 
exclusion,  of  course,  death  passed  upon  all  men  :  "  For  as 
in  Adam  all  die  [because  none  since  have  had  access  to 
the  tree  of  life,  and  immortality  is  thenceforth  only  to 


THE   GOVERNMENT  OF  GOD.  1 39 

be  obtained  through  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  and  to  be 
conferred  upon  the  saints  in  the  resurrection  at  the  last 
day] — as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be 
made  alive."  But  to  be  in  Christ  is  to  be  a  new  creat- 
ure ;  to  become  like  him  in  spirit,  disposition  ;  to  be- 
lieve his  words,  love  his  doctrines,  and  follow  his  exam- 
ple in  working  righteousness. 


CHAPTER  V. 

WHO    AND    WHAT   ARE   ANGELS. 

We  have  said  angels  were  a  higher  order  of  beings 
than  man.  This  is  shown  in  such  passages  as  the  follow- 
ing. "  Bless  the  Lord,  ye  his  angels,  that  excel  in 
strength,  and  do  his  commandments,  hearkening  unto 
the  voice  of  his  words,  bless  ye  the  Lord,  all  ye  his  hosts ; 
ye  ministers  of  his,  that  do  his  pleasure.  Praise  ye  him, 
all  ye  his  angels.  Man  did  eat  angels'  food.  And  the 
angel  answering,  said  unto  him,  I  am  Gabriel  that  stand 
in  the  presence  of  God  ;  and  am  sent  to  speak  unto  thee, 
and  to  show  thee  these  glad  tidings."  (Luke  i  :  19.) 
''  And  I  heard  a  man's  voice  [then  angels  speak  like 
men]  between  the  banks  of  Ulai,  which  called  and  said, 
Gabriel,  make  this  man  to  understand  the  vision." 
(Dan.  8  :  16.)  "  Yea  !  while  I  was  speaking  in  prayer, 
even  the  man  Gabriel  [Gabriel  was  so  much  like  a  man 
that  the  prophet  thus  names  him],  whom  I  had  seen  in  the 
vision  at  the  beginning,  being  caused  to  fly  swiftly  [to 
go  quickly],  touched  me  about  the  time  of  the  evening 
oblation."     (Dan.  9  :  21.) 

"  Who  maketh  his  angels  spirits"  [sends  them  with 
spiritual  messages].  (Heb.  i:  7.)  The  angel  of  Jesus 
carried  his  spirit-messages  to  the  seven  churches. 
"  Verily,  he  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of  angels,  but  the 
seed  of  Abraham."  (Heb.  2:  10.)  Here  angels  are 
natural  beings.  ''  But  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of  death,  crowned 
with  glory  and  honor ;  that  he  by  the  grace  of  God 
should  taste  death  for  every  man."  (Heb.  2.)  The 
humanJmmanuel  nature  was  lower  than  the  nature  of 
angels,  since  they  have  lived  out  their  probation,  and  can- 
not suffer  the  death  penalty,  which  is  the  result  of  sin. 


WHO   AND    WHAT   ARE   ANGELS.  141 

<'  The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  But  God,  who  took  this 
nature  on  himself,  was  higher  than  the  angels.  '^  Being 
made  so  much  better  than  the  angels,  as  he  hath  by  in- 
heritance obtained  a  more  excellent  name  than  they  ;  for 
unto  which  of  the  angels  said  he  at  any  time,  Thou  art  my 
Son,  this  day  have  1  begotten  thee  ?  And  again,  I  will 
be  to  him  a  Father,  and  he  shall  be  to  me  a  Son  ?  And 
again,  when  he  bringeth  in  the  first-begotten  into  the 
world,  he  saith.  And  let  all  the  angels  of  God  wor- 
ship him ;  and  of  the  angels  he  saith,  Who  maketh  his 
angels  spirits,  and  his  ministers  a  flame  of  fire  ;  but  unto 
the  Son  he  saith.  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and  ever  : 
a  sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom. ' ' 
(Heb.  I  :   4-8.) 

The  Angels  of  the  Sepulchre, 

''And  entering  into  the  sepulchre,  they  saw  a  young  man 
sitting  on  the  right  side,  clothed  in  a  long  white  gar- 
ment ;  and  they  were  affrighted.  And  he  saith  unto 
them.  Be  not  affrighted :  ye  seek  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
which  was  crucified  :  he  is  not  here ;  he  is  risen :  be- 
hold the  place  where  they  laid  him."  (Mark  16  :  5,  6.) 
Matthew  says  they  said,  *'  Come,  see  the  place  where 
the  Lord  lay."  (28:  6.)  This  angel  appeared  to  be  a 
young  man,  and  yet  he  was  more  than  four  thousand 
years  old ;  showing  that  time  makes  no  impression  on 
immortal  beings.  This  was  the  first  time  Mary  Magdalene 
went  to  the  sepulchre,  and  she  was  the  first  of  the  friends 
of  Jesus,  with  the  other  Marys,  who  went  there.  "  Now 
when  Jesus  was  risen,  early  the  first  day  of  the  week  he 
appeared  first  to  Mary  Magdalene,  and  she  went  and  told 
them  that  had  been  with  him,  as  they  mourned  and  wept." 
John  gives  more  particulars,  thus  :  ''  Then  she  runneth  to 
Simon  Peter,  and  to  the  other  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved 
[John  thus  modestly  speaks  of  himself,  not  even  mention- 
ing his  own  name],  and  saith  unto  them,  They  have  taken 
away  the  Lord  out  of  the  sepulchre,  and  we  know  not 
where  they  have  laid  him.  So  they  ran  both  together  ; 
and  the  other  disciple  did  outrun  Peter,  and  came  first  to 


142      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

the  sepulchre.  And  he,  stooping  down  and  looking  in, 
saw  the  linen  clothes  lying ;  yet  went  he  not  in.  Then 
cometh  Simon  Peter,  and  went  into  sepulchre,  and  seeth 
the  linen  clothes  lie ;  and  the  napkin,  that  was  about  his 
head,  not  lying  with  the  linen  clothes,  wrapped  together 
in  a  place  by  itself.  Then  went  in  also  the  other  dis- 
ciple which  came  first  to  the  sepulchre,  and  he  saw  and 
believed.  For  yet  they  knew  not  the  Scripture,  that  he 
must  rise  from  the  dead.  Then  the  disciples  went  away 
again  unto  their  own  home.  But  Mary  stood  without  at 
the  sepulchre  weeping  [she  had  returned  again],  and  as 
she  wept,  she  stooped  down,  and  looked  into  the  sepul- 
chre, and  seeth  two  angels  in  white,  sitting,  the  one  at 
the  head,  and  the  other  at  the  feet,  where  the  body  of 
Jesus  had  lain.  And  they  said  unto  her.  Woman,  why 
weepest  thou  ?  She  saith,  Because  they  have  taken  away 
my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him." 
(John  20  :  2-13.) 

This  was  Mary's  second  visit  to  the  sepulchre.  The 
first  time  she  saw  one  angel  in  the  sepulchre,  but  the  sec- 
ond time  she  saw  two.  We  quote  this  so  particularly  to 
brush  away  another  mistake  of  Ingersoll's  about  the  dis- 
agreement in  the  account,  as  seeing  one  and  two  angels  in 
the  sepulchre.  Matthew  records  the  scene  of  rolling  away 
the  stone  thus  :  ' '  And  behold  !  there  was  a  great  earth- 
quake :  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  descended  from  heaven, 
and  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre, 
and  sat  upon  it.  His  countenance  was  like  lightning, 
and  his  raiment  white  as  snow  ;  and  for  fear  of  him  the 
keepers  did  shake,  and  became  as  dead  men."      (28  :    2.) 

This  angel  had  gone  into  the  sepulchre,  where  Mary 
saw  him,  and  veiling  his  glory  from  her,  which  had  driven 
the  Roman  soldiers  from  the  grave. 

Christ  not  a  Spirit  in  the  Sense  of  a  Ghost. 

In  this  account,  as  well  as  generally  in  Scripture,  there 
are  three  distinct  orders  of  persons — Christ,  angels,  and 
men  ;  and  so  much  resembling  each  other  that  one  is 
taken  for  the  other,  and  all  are  so  much  like  men  that 


WHO   AND    WHAT   ARE   ANGELS.  143 

they  are  thus  named.  We  quote  the  following,  to  show 
that  Christ  used  his  power  to  hold  the  eyes  of  men  that 
they  might  not  know  him,  whenever  he  pleased  so  to 
do,  and  which  explains  the  saying,  "  He  vanished  out  of 
their  sight,  the  doors  being  shut."  He  thus  held  their 
eyes  until  he  made  himself  known,  and  then  again  until 
he  opened  the  door  and  went  out.  This  fact  removes 
the  scoffer's  objection  to  the  effect  that  it  was  not  possible 
a  man  with  a  body  of  flesh  and  bones  could  go  through  a 
shut  door.  "And  behold,  two  of  them  went  that  same 
day  [tw^o  of  his  disciples  on  the  day  of  the  resurrection] 
to  a  village  called  Emmaus,  which  was  from  Jerusalem 
about  three  score  furlongs.  And  they  talked  together  of 
all  these  things  which  had  happened.  And  it  came  to 
pass  that,  while  they  communed  together,  and  reasoned, 
Jesus  himself  drew  near,  and  went  with  them,  but  their 
eyes  were  holden  that  they  should  not  know  him.  And  he 
said  unto  them,  What  manner  of  communications  are 
these  that  ye  have  one  with  another,  as  ye  walk,  and  are 
sad  ?  And  one  of  them,  whose  name  w^as  CleojDas,  an- 
swering, said  unto  him.  Art  thou  only  a  stranger  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  hast  not  known  the  things  which  are  come  to 
pass  in  these  days?  And  he  said.  What  things?  And 
they  said,  Concerning  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  which  was  a 
prophet  mighty  in  deed  and  w^ord,  before  God  and 
all  the  people.  And  how  the  chief  priests  and  our 
rulers  delivered  him  to  be  condemned  to  death,  and  have 
crucified  him.  But  we  trusted  that  it  had  been  he 
which  should  have  redeemed  Israel,  and  besides  all  this, 
to-day  is  the  third  day  since  these  things  were  done. 
Yea  !  and  certain  wonien  of  our  company  made  us  as- 
tonished, which  were  early  at  the  sepulchre ;  and  when 
they  found  not  his  body,  they  came,  saying  that  they 
had  seen  a  vision  of  angels,  which  said  that  he  was  alive. 
And  certain  of  them  that  were  with  us  went  to  the  sepul- 
chre, and  found  it  even  so  as  the  women  had  said  :  but 
him  they  saw  not."      (Luke  24  :  13-24.) 

During  all  this  conversation  the  eyes  of  the  disciples  with 
whom  he  had  familiarly  mingled  for  more  than  three  years, 
were  so  holden  by  him  that  they  did  not  know  him. 


144      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 


Angel-Escort  at  the  Ascension  and  Return  of  Christ. 

''  And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things,  while  they  be- 
held, he  was  taken  up,  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of 
their  sight.  And  while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward 
heaven  as  he  went  up,  behold  !  two  men  stood  by  them  in 
white  apparel;  which  also  said.  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why 
stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven  ?  this  same  Jesus,  which  is 
taken  up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  man- 
ner as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven."  (Acts  i  :  9- 
II.)  Here  are  probably  the  same  two  angels  who  had 
been  seen  in  the  sepulchre  forty  days  before,  and  they  are 
called  two  men.  This  event  fulfilled  the  prediction  of 
Christ,  thus  :  ''  Hereafter  ye  shall  see  heaven  open,  and 
the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending  upon  [with] 
the  Son  of  Man. ' '  (John  i  :  51.)  This  is  a  quotation  from 
the  prophecy  of  Jacob,  thus:  ''And  he  dreamed,  and 
behold  !  a  ladder  set  up  on  the  earth,  and  the  top  of  it 
reached  to  heaven,  and  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and 
descending  on  it."  (Gen.  28:  12.)  The  first  part  of 
the  prediction  was  fulfilled  when  Christ  ascended,  as 
above  accompanied  by  angels,  and  the  second  part  will  be 
fulfilled  thus  :  ''When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  with 
all  his  holy  angels,  in  the  glory  of  his  Father."  Two 
angels  only  accompanied  Christ  at  his  ascension  ;  but  at 
his  return,  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  he  is  to  be  accom- 
panied thus  :  "  And  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man 
coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with  power  and  great 
glory. "  "  And  he  shall  send  his  angels  with  a  great  sound 
of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  together  his  elect  from 
the  four  winds  of  heaven,  from  one  end  of  heaven  to  the 
other."    (Matt.  24.) 

Scripture  Prophecy  of  the  Event. 

' '  He  maketh  the  clouds  his  chariots. "  "He  rode  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind."  "For  behold!  the  Lord  will 
come  with  fire,  and  with  his  chariots  like  a  whirlwind." 
*'The  chariots  of  God  are  thousands  of  angels."     "The 


WHO   AND    WHAT   ARE   ANGELS.  145 

Lord  thundered  in  the  heavens,  and  came  down ;  he 
bowed  the  heavens,  and  came  down ;  and  the  earth 
was  hghted  with  his  glory."  ''And  Jesus,  answering, 
said  unto  them,  The  children  of  this  world  marry  and 
are  given  in  marriage,  but  they  which  shall  be  counted 
worthy  to  obtain  that  world,  and  the  resurrection  from 
the  dead,  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage ; 
neither  can  they  die  any  more ;  for  they  are  equal  unto 
the  angels,  and  are  the  children  of  God,  being  the 
children  of  the  resurrection."  (Luke  20  :  34-36.)  Here 
are  the  resurrected  saints :  the  re-created  world,  restored 
to  its  original  perfection  :  the  endless  abode  of  God : 
Immanuelized  :  angels,  and  immortal  men.  The  devil 
and  his  works  are  no  more,  and  the  eternal  reign  of 
righteousness  and  peace  covers  the  new-made  world. 

When  and  How  the  Angel-devil  Became  a  Devil. 

It  is  certain  that  at  some  period  before  the  creation  of 
the  world,  and  up  to  that  time,  the  angels  were  on  trial 
and  were  susceptible  of  death,  because  of  sin,  as  ''the 
wages  of  sin  is  death."  Some  had  stood  the  test,  and 
remained  obedient  to  the  restrictions  and  commands  of 
their  Maker ;  who  consequently  became  exempt  from  all 
future  liability.  Others  had  failed,  and  incurred  the 
death  penalty,  and  yet  await  its  execution,  to  be  awarded 
at  the  judgment  in  the  last  day  ;  hence  we  read  :  "  For 
if  God  spare  not  the  angels  that  sinned  ;  but  cast  them 
down  to  hell."  (2  Pet.  2  :  5.)  The  Scripture  explanation 
is,  that  they  are  to  be  cast  into  hell  at  the  end  of  the 
world ;  using  the  present  for  the  future  tense,  so  common 
in  Scripture.  Now,  these  fallen  angels  having  no  hope 
of  happiness  or  immortality  themselves,  they  are  confined 
to  the  animosity  and  sweet  morsel  of  revenge  in  seeking 
to  make  every  one  else  unhappy  and  hopeless  like  them- 
selves, and  whom  God  desires  to  be  happy  and  live  for- 
ever. It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  devil  can  enjoy  such 
acts.  Hence  his  implacability  in  attempts  to  baffle  the 
plans  and  delay  the  purposes  of  God  in  the  salvation  of 
his  children  to  life  and   immortahty,  as  that  will  be  the 


146      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

time  for  the  destruction  of  every  living  devil.  The 
common  complaint  of  the  wicked  against  God  is  for 
having  made  any  tests,  or  laws  requiring  obedience. 
What  they  wish  is,  the  liberty  to  do  as  they  please  with 
impunity :  be  unlike  their  Maker  and  displease  him  to 
any  degree  and  all  their  days,  and  yet  wish  to  be  re- 
warded with  eternal  life  in  his  kingdom,  just  as  those 
who  had  served  him.  The  gratification  of  such  a  course 
is  thrown  into  the  form  of  a  question  God  inspired  the 
prophet  to  write,  thus  :  "  Why  do  the  heathen  <rage,  and 
the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing?  The  kings  of  the  earth 
set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together, 
against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  Anointed  [Christ], 
saying,  Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder,  and  cast  away 
their  cords  from  us. 

'^  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh  :  the  Lord 
shall  have  them  in  derision.  Then  shall  he  speak  unto 
them  in  his  wrath,  and  vex  them  in  his  sore  displeasure. 
Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  thou  shalt 
dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel.  Be  wise  now, 
therefore,  O  ye  kings :  be  instructed,  ye  judges  of  the 
earth.  Kiss  the  Son,  less  he  be  angry,  and  ye  perish 
when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little."     Second  Psalm. 

It  was  the  will  of  God  that  the  angels  and  their  leader, 
who  became  devils,  should  have  continued  to  inhabit  his 
abode,  which  is  not  in  this  world,  until  its  re-creation — 
the  world  to  come  ;  but  they  desired  to  change  their 
estate  for  the  Eden  world  as  soon  as  they  saw  it  finished. 
It  was  a  world  of  such  beauty  and  charming  delight 
that  called  forth  the  highest  joy  of  the  angels,  of  which 
Job  speaks  thus  :  "  The  morning  stars  sang  together,  and 
all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy."  (Job  38  :  7.)  Of 
course  there  was  nothing  wrong  in  such  a  desire,  and 
which  every  angel  of  heaven  indulged ;  but  being  in- 
formed by  the  Creator  that  the  earth  was  to  be  their  final 
abode ;  yet  not  to  commence  then,  as  it  was  to  pass 
through  a  terrible  history,  and  of  such  derangement  that 
would  render  its  re-creation  a  necessity.  While  such  an 
explanation  was  satisfactory  to  some  of  the  angels,  it  was 
not  to  others;  and  these  determined  to  make  the  change 


WHO   AND   WHAT   ARE   ANGELS.  147 

at  onee  and  immediately  ;  ' '  and  they  kept  not  their  first 
estate,  but  left  their  own  habitation"  for  that  of  the 
world.  This  self-will  of  the  angels,  in  opposition  to  the 
plan  and  will  of  God,  made  them  devils.  That  no  pro- 
vision has  been  made  for  their  recovery  and  salvation, 
seems  to  leave  no  other  inference  than  that,  in  the  estima- 
tion and  providence  of  God  their  Creator,  there  was 
none  available  for  the  purpose. 


Peri>onality  of  Angels,  and  therefore  of  Devils. 

The  biblical  history  of  angels  shows  them  to  be  so 
much  like  men,  that  they  can  eat  the  same  food,  and  were 
always  taken  for  men.  There  is,  however,  no  intimation 
that  they  are  male  and  female.  From  which  fact  it 
would  follow  that,  like  Adam,  each  was  a  distinct 
creation ;  and  that  they  sang  the  world's  dedicatory 
hymn  shows  their  creation  to  have  been  prior  to  the 
creation  of  the  world.  When  they  come  to  men  they 
are  God's  messengers,  and  are  recognized  as  such  by  the 
Lord  himself,  and  receive  his  titles  without  crime.  Some 
of  these  visits  are  recorded  as  follows:  "And  the  Lord 
appeared  unto  Abraham  in  the  plains  of  Mamre :  as  he 
sat  in  the  tent  door  in  the  heat  of  the  day ;  and  he 
looked,  and  lo  !  three  men  stood  by  him  :  and  he  bowed 
himself  to  the  ground,  and  said.  My  Lord,  if  now  I  have 
found  favor  in  thy  sight,  pass  not  away,  I  pray  thee, 
from  thy  servant :  let  a  little  water  be  fetched,  and  wash 
your  feet,  and  rest  yourselves  under  the  tree :  and  I  will 
fetch  a  morsel  of  bread,  and  comfort  your  hearts ;  after 
that  ye  shall  pass  on  :  for  therefore  are  ye  come  to  your 
servant.  And  he  said.  So  do  as  thou  hast  said.  [Here  we 
see  that  even  among  these  three  angels,  one  was  the 
leader,  and  decided  for  the  rest.]  And  Abraham  said 
unto  Sarah,  Make  ready  quickly  three  measures  of  fine 
meal;  knead  it,  and  make  cakes  upon  the  hearth.  And 
Abraham  ran  unto  the  herd,  and  fetched  a  calf  tender 
and  good,  and  gave  it  to  a  young  man  ;  and  he  hasted 
to  dress  it.     And  he  took   butter,  and  milk,  and  of  the 


148      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

calf  which  he  had  dressed,  and  set  it  before  them ;  and 
he  stood  by  them  under  the  tree,  and  they  did  eat. 

"  And  the  men  rose  up  from  thence,  and  looked  toward 
Sodom  ;  and  Abraham  went  with  them  on  the  way.  And 
the  Lord  said,  Shall  I  hide  from  Abraham  that  thing 
which  I  do  ;  seeing  that  Abraham  shall  surely  become  a 
great  and  mighty  nation,  and  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
shall  be  blessed  in  him  ?  And  the  Lord  said,  Because 
the  cry  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  is  great,  and  because 
their  sin  is  very  grievous,  therefore  I  am  come  to  destroy 
them.  [Then  came  the  noble  prayer  of  Abraham's  for 
the  cities  and  people,  which  exhibited  the  highest  order 
of  humanity  and  great  breadth  of  mental  discernment ;  but 
so  bad  were  the  inhabitants  of  those  cities  that  Abraham, 
after  using  every  form  of  prayer  and  ground  of  plea,  was 
forced  to  acquiesce  in  the  decision  of  his  merciful  Lord.] 
' '  And  the  men  turned  their  faces  from  thence,  and  went 
toward  Sodom."     (Gen.  i8.) 

Angels  at  the  Burning  of  So  do  )n  and  Gomorrah. 

Two  of  these  angels  arrived  at  Sodom  that  evening, 
the  other  having  left  them  :  "  And  there  came  two  angels 
to  Sodom  at  even ;  and  Lot  sat  in  the  gate,  and  he  rose 
up  to  meet  them,  and  bowed  himself,  and  said,  Behold  ! 
now,  my  Lords,  turn  in,  I  pray  you,  into  your  servant's 
house,  and  wash  your  feet,  and  ye  shall  rise  up  early  and 
go  on  your  way.  And  they  said,  Nay  !  but  we  will 
abide  in  the  street  all  night.  And  he  pressed  them 
greatly ;  and  they  turned  in  unto  him,  into  his  house, 
and  he  made  them  a  feast,  and  did  bake  unleavened  bread, 
and  they  did  eat.  But  before  they  lay  down,  the  men  of 
Sodom  compassed  the  house  round,  both  old  and  young, 
from  every  quarter  ;  and  they  called  unto  Lot.,  and  said. 
Where  are  the  men  which  came  in  to  thee  ?  bring  them 
out  unto  us,  that  we  may  know  them.  And  Lot  went  out 
at  the  door  and  shut  the  door  after  him,  and  said,  I  pray 
you,  brethren,  do  not  so  wickedly.  And  they  said.  Stand 
back.  And  they  said  again.  This  one  fellow  came  in  to 
sojourn,  and  he  will  needs  be  a  judge ;  now  will  we  deal 


WHO   AND    WHAT  ARE   ANGELS.  149 

worse  with  thee,  than  with  them.  And  they  pressed 
sore  upon  Lot,  and  came  near  to  break  the  door ;  but  the 
men  from  within  put  forth  their  hand  and  pulled  Lot 
into  the  house,  and  shut  the  door,  but  smote  the  men 
that  were  at  the  door  with  blindness,  both  small  and 
great,  so  that  they  wearied  themselves  to  find  the  door. 
And  the  men  said  unto  Lot,  Hast  thou  here  any  besides 
son-in-law,  and  sons,  and  thy  daughters,  and  whatsoever 
thou  hast  in  the  city,  bring  them  out,  for  we  will  destroy 
this  place,  because  the  cry  of  them  is  waxen  great  before 
the  face  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the  Lord  hath  sent  us  to  destroy 
it."  (Gen.  19.)  In  referring  to  these  angel-visits,  Paul 
speaks  thus:  '^  Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers, 
for  thereby  some  have  entertained  angels  unawares." 
(Heb.  13:2.)  So  much  were  angels  like  men  in  appear- 
ance, speech,  and  appetite,  that  as  intelligent  men  as 
Abraham  and  Lot  could  discover  no  difference.  The 
fact  here  stated,  that  the  angels  at  Lot's  house  had  the 
power  to  smite  men  with  blindness  without  touching 
them,  implies  the  possession  of  the  lesser  power  of  hold- 
ing human  eyes  from  seeing  themselves  if  they  pleased. 
The  devil,  being  a  fallen  angel,  has  also  the  same  power. 
Neither  Adam  nor  Eve  saw  the  devil,  and  if  he  was  as 
close  to  them  as  the  serpent,  he  might  have  held  their 
eyes  from  seeing  him.  And  so  also  may  it  be  with  the 
devil  in  relation  to  men  ever  since,  and  everywhere. 
So  also  may  it  be  with  the  holy  angels ;  were  they  near 
us,  we  might  not  see  them,  though  they  are  as  palpable 
to  our  senses  as  our  fellow-men  to  each  other. 


The  Angel  Gabriel  and  the  Prophets. 

Gabriel  was  once  detained  twenty-one  days  from 
reaching  the  prophet  Daniel,  by  the  king  of  Persia. 
The  account  is  as  follows:  ''Then  he  [Gabriel]  said 
unto  me,  Fear  not,  Daniel ;  for  from  the  first  day  that 
thou  didst  set  thy  heart  to  understand,  and  to  chasten 
thyself  before  thy  God,  thy  words  were  heard,  and  I 
am  come  for  thy  words.  But  the  Prince  of  the  kingdom 
of  Persia  withstood  me  one  and  twenty  days ;  but,  lo, 


150      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Michael,  one  of  the  chief  princes,  came  to  help  me  ;  and 
I  remained  there  with  the  kings  of  Persia."  (Daniel  lo  : 
12,  13.)  Here  Gabriel  has  been  transacting  national  busi- 
ness with  the  king  of  Persia,  and  for  the  King  of  kings, 
one  and  twenty  days ;  but  the  king  of  Persia  did  not  see 
him,  and  the  power  was  psychologic,  turning  him  aside 
from  one  purpose  to  another  as  best  he  might,  by  mental 
impression  produced  by  his  will  upon  the  mind  of  the 
king  and  his  court ;  so  his  brother  fallen  angel  was,  in 
the  court  of  Eden,  also  by  psychologic  power  quickening 
the  mind  and  controlling  the  organs  of  the  serpent's 
speech  in  beguiling  the  woman  into  disobedience.  When 
Gabriel  came,  Daniel  was  thrown  into  holy  vision,  in  which 
state  he  was  made  to  see  and  understand  events  to  come, 
just  as  God  saw  they  would  be,  and  communicated  that 
knowledge  to  the  prophet.  Hence  it  is  said  that  revela- 
tions of  Cxod  were  sometimes  given  ''by  the  disposition 
of  angels."  In  relation  to  these  psychologic  phenomena, 
we  have  ourselves,  by  mere  acts  of  will,-  without  speaking 
a  word,  controlled  the  will  and  mental  power  of  others, 
and  in  the  presence  of  hundreds  of  people,  so  that  they 
were  made  to  see,  hear,  feel,  taste,  and  smell  just  as  we 
willed  they  should ;  drinking,  as  they  supposed,  tea, 
coffee,  milk,  and  wine,  while  none  of  these  things  were 
real !  Nor  could  they  perform  a  voluntary  act  with- 
out the  consent  of  our  will,  and  only  in  the  direction  of 
such  will ;  the  eyes  of  a  half-dozen  men  were  held  and 
blinded,  in  an  instant,  or  made  to  see  some  persons,  and 
not  others  equally  near.  In  this  manner  they  were  made 
to  steal,  and  manifest  hatred  to  religion,  and  violence 
upon  others,  contrary  to  the  commands  of  God  ;  and  yet 
these  persons  were  Christians. 

Now,  if  the  mind  of  one  man  possesses  this  wonderful 
will-power  over  his  fellow-man,  and  that  of  angels  also 
over  men,  as  we  have  seen,  may  not  the  devil  exert  the 
same  power  over  men,  and  if  done  only  to  this  extent, 
does  it  not  account  for  all  his  acts  in  the  garden  of  Eden  ? 
That  this  psychologic  or  mesmeric  power  has  been  ex- 
erted over  horses,  cats,  and  other  animals,  is  equally  a 
matter  of  fact.     It  is  true,  there  are  comparatively  few 


WHO   AND   WHAT   ARE   ANGELS  151 

men  susceptible  of  such  influence  by  his  fellow-men ; 
but  may  not  the  mind  of  a  devil,  whose  natural  powers 
excel  those  of  men,  and  having  had  six  thousand  years' 
experience,  so  seduce  every  man  ?  In  fact,  we  have  no 
evidence  that  the  devil  possesses  as  great  psychologic 
power,  except  in  its  extension  to  all  men,  as  that  now 
possessed  by  man  over  his  fellow-man. 

Psychologic  Power  and  Devil  Possession. 

By  these  experiments  we  may  say  that  there  is  not  a 
case  recorded  in  the  New  Testament  of  a  devil-posses- 
sion but  which  could  be  produced  upon  individuals  by 
this  human  psychologic  power.  Suppose,  then,  that  a  man 
had  an  envious,  revengeful  neighbor,  and  that  he  him- 
self was  susceptible  of  this  peculiar  animal-magnetic  in- 
fluence, and  that  the  enemy  should  produce  upon  his 
mind  the  conviction  that  he  was  a  witch,  or  was  possessed 
of  the  devil,  and  that  he  must  live  the  rest  Of  his  life 
among  the  tombs  of  the  dead — be  wild,  and  fiercely  attack 
every  traveller  passing  that  way  :  here  is  the  devil  tempt- 
ing one  of  his  own  servants  to  commit  this  terrible  crime 
of  tormenting  his  neighbor  !  Suppose,  further,  that  the 
man  is  made  to  believe  and  feel  that  he  is  possessed  of  a 
legion  of  devils,  and  that  they  could,  by  controlling  the 
victim's  organs  of  speech,  in  answer  to  the  question, 
*'  What  is  thy  name  ?  "  reply,  "  My  name  is  legion  " — 
all  of  which  can  certainly  be  done  in  this  manner  by  the 
power  of  a  human  enemy,  and  if  so  done,  would  it  not 
be  the  work  of  the  devil?  and  would  he  not  as  really  be 
possessed  of  the  devil  as  though  the  devil  had  done  it  all 
directly  ?  Therefore,  by  the  instrumentality  of  his  human 
servants,  'Med  captive  by  Satan  at  his  will,"  can  one 
original  devil  tempt  the  whole  fallen  human  family  ;  lead 
men  into  crime,  and  then  upbraid  and  torment  them  for 
yielding.  And  this  is  the  philosophy  and  work  popularly 
known  as  spiritualism,  which  degrades  the  Bible  and  blas- 
phemes its  Author  by  declaring  all  superseded  by  these 
psychologic  impressions  reciprocally  produced,  and  read 
from  each  other's  mind  ! 


152      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Suppose,  still  further,  that  Jesus  Christ,  the  Maker  and 
Owner  of  the  angel-devils,  had  met  this  man,  and  being 
about  to  dispossess  him,  the  devil — anxious  to  do  all  the 
evil  he  could,  as  in  the  case  of  Job's  person  and  cattle — 
should  have  asked  to  be  permitted  to  go  into  a  herd  of 
swine  feeding  close  by,  and  was  so  permitted,  would  it 
not  have  been  possible,  and  in  this  case  consistent  also  ? 
It  is  in  the  history  of  witchcraft  that  cattle  were  pos- 
sessed by  witch-devil  influence.  In  order  to  vindicate 
the  act  of  Jesus  giving  the  devils  permission  to  destroy 
the  swine,  about  which  Ingersoll  scoffs,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  law  of  Moses  forbade  eating  swines' 
flesh,  and  that  these  swine  were  raised  by  the  Gadarenes, 
the  tribe  of  Gad,  for  the  Jewish  market.  This  case  illus- 
trates all  other  similar  ones  recorded  of  devil-possession 
in  the  Testament,  and  shows  them  to  have  been  of  psy- 
chologic character,  or  what  in  our  day  is  called  animal- 
magnetism  and  known  as  modern  spiritualism. 

But  there  is  another  class  of  devil-possession,  which 
was  physical  diseases  themselves.  As  an  illustration  we 
have  the  following  account:  ''And  when  he  came  to  his 
disciples,  he  saw  a  great  multitude  about  them,  and  the 
scribes  questioning  with  them.  And  straightway  all  the 
people,  when  they  beheld  him,  were  greatly  amazed,  and 
running  to  him,  saluted  him.  And  he  asked  the  scribes. 
What  question  ye  with  them?  And  one  of  the  multitude 
answered,  and  said,  Master  !  I  have  brought  unto  thee 
my  son,  which  hath  a  dumb  spirit ;  and  wherever  he 
taketh  him  he  teareth  him,  and  he  foameth,  and  gnasheth 
with  his  teeth,  and  he  pineth  away  ;  and  I  spake  to  thy 
disciples  that  they  should  cast  him  out,  and  they  could 
not.  He  answereth  him,  and  saith,  O  faithless  genera- 
tion, how  long  shall  I  be  with  you  ?  how  long  shall  I 
suffer  you?  Bring  him  unto  me.  And  they  brought 
him  :  and  when  he  saw  him,  straightway  the  spirit  tare 
him,  and  he  fell  on  the  ground,  and  wallowed  foaming. 
And  he  asked  his  father,  How  long  is  it  ago  since  this 
came  unto  him  ?  And  he  said.  Of  a  child,  and  oft-times 
it  hath  cast  him  into  the  fire,  and  into  the  waters,  to  de- 
stroy him;  but  if  thou  canst  do  anything,  have  compassion 


WHO   AND    WHAT  ARE   ANGELS.  1 53 

on  us.  Jesus  said  unto  him,  If  thou  canst  beheve,  all 
things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth.  And  the  father 
of  the  child  cried  out  and  said,  with  tears,  I  believe ;  help 
thou  mine  unbelief!  When  Jesus  saw  that  the  people 
came  running  together,  he  rebuked  the  foul  spirit,  saying 
unto  him.  Thou  dumb  and  deaf  spirit,  I  charge  thee, 
come  out  of  him,  and  enter  no  more  into  him.  And  the 
spirit  cried  and  rent  him  sore,  and  came  out  of  him ;  and 
he  seemed  as  one  dead ;  inasmuch  as  many  said.  He  is 
dead.  But  Jesus  took  him  by  the  hand  and  lifted  him 
up;  and  he  arose."      (Mark  9  :  14-27.) 

It  may  be  said,  that  the  young  man  had  what  is  popularly 
called  "  falling  fits,"  a  predisposition  to  which  he  inherited 
from  his  parents,  or  grandparents,  or  by  degrees  of  develop- 
ment further  back  still ;  as  the  symptoms  described  are  the 
same.  In  reply  we  may  say,  had  there  been  no  other  in- 
fluence back  of  that,  why  was  it  that  the  man  did  not 
instantly  become  vigorous,  and  which  physiological  law 
would  have  required  ;  instead  of  which  he  became  almost 
lifeless.  Indeed,  Jesus  had  to  take  him  by  the  hand  and 
lift  him  up ;  which  would  seem  to  show  that  it  was  the 
foul  spirit  of  the  devil,  instead  of  natural  vigor,  which  so 
powerfully  animated  him  a  few  moments  before.  This, 
however,  is  of  but  little  importance,  because  every  physical 
derangement  is  either  the  direct  or  indirect  work  of  the 
devil.  He  induced  Adam  and  Eve  to  obey  him  and  dis- 
obey their  Maker  ;  and  thus  sin  entered  into  the  world, 
and  death  as  a  consequence.  This  being  the  greatest  phys- 
ical derangement,  necessarily  includes  all  forms  and  lesser 
degrees  of  disease ;  some  one  of  which  must  precede 
and  accompany  death,  though  it  may  only  be  the  harden- 
ing process  of  the  physiological  system  we  call  age,  which 
sometimes  reaches  ossification  of  vital  organs  before  death, 
beginning  with  our  first  breath  and  steadily  advancing 
until  a  rigidity  of  them  is  reached,  which  the  nutritious 
forces  fail  to  move  ;  and  this  is  death.  If,  therefore,  there 
had  been  no  sin,  there  had  been  no  death,  with  its  con- 
comitants of  pain  and  disease  ;  and  lastly,  had  not  our  first 
parents,  or  one  of  their  succeeding  generations,  obeyed  the 
devil  and    disobeyed    their    Creator,  the   human    family 


154      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

would  still  have  had  access  to  the  tree  of  life,  the  anti- 
dote for  ossification,  and  consequently  have  lived  forever. 
Hence  all  possible  forms  and  phrases  of  physical  derange- 
ment among  mankind  are  the  work  of  the  devil  and  that 
of  devil-possession,  now  its  natural  development.  In 
harmony  with  this  natural  philosophy  is  the  Scriptural 
doctrine  which  attributes  the  power  of  death  to  the  devil. 
This,  being  the  culmination  of  physical  derangement,  car- 
ries with  it  the  power  of  disease,  its  forerunner  and  accom- 
paniment. It  in  nowise  alters  the  case  if  any  or  all  the 
Satanic  possessions  and  powers  have  been  transmitted 
through  every  one  of  the  two  hundred  generations  of 
mankind  :  if  the  devil  introduced  them,  then  they  are  his 
inheritance,  and  to  cure  any  of  them,  according  to  Script- 
ure, is  to  cast  out  devils.  Hence  Christ  gives  us  a  gen- 
eral declaration  of  the  nature  of  the  work,  by  whomsoever 
performed,  thus  :  ''  The  same  day  there  came  certain  of 
the  Pharisees,  saying  unto  him,  Get  thee  out,  and  depart 
thee  hence  ;  for  Herod  will  kill  thee.  And  he  said  unto 
them,  Go,  tell  that  fox.  Behold  !  I  cast  out  devils,  and 
do  cures  to-day  and  to-morrow,  and  the  third  day  I  shall 
be  perfected."     (Luke  13  :  31,  32.) 

We  have  produced  the  evidence  in  another  place  to 
show  that  the  six  days  of  creation  were  symbols  of  six 
thousand  years  of  the  world's  existence,  and  the  seventh, 
that  of  the  rest  of  another  thousand  :  the  seventh  of 
the  seven  millenniums.  Christ  was  on  earth  in  the  fifth 
thousand  (the  fifth  day)  :  He  must  cast  out  devils  and  do 
cures  the  remainder  of  that  day — that  thousand  :  all  the 
next  day — the  sixth  thousand — the  second  day  ;  and  the 
third  thousand  from  his  own,  and  seventh  of  the  world, 
he  would  be  perfected — glorified  by  entering  upon  the 
millennial  rest,  which  had  remained  a  matter  of  promise  up 
to  that  time  :  "If  we  suffer  with  him,  we  shall  also  reign 
with  him."  '^\nd  if  children,  then  heirs  :  heirs  of  God, 
and  joint-heirs  with  Christ ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with 
him,  that  we  may  be^^/^;'{/f<"^/^^^'-^///<fr."  (Rom.  8  :  17.) 
The  work  of  casting  out  devils  and  doing  cures  was  to 
accompany  the  gospel  down  to  the  end  of  the  world,  and 
he  himself  is  credited  with  whatever  is  done  in  his  name; 


WHO   AND    WHAT   ARE   ANGELS.  1 55 

therefore  Christ  casts  out  devils  and  does  cures  as  long  as 
the  world  stands.  It  is  easy  to  see  from  these  well-known 
reciprocal  influences  of  mind  upon  mind,  will  upon  will, 
and  mind  and  will  upon  inorganic  matter,  that  the  trans- 
actions recorded  in  Scripture  as  having  taken  place  in  the 
garden  of  Eden  are  in  perfect  accord  with  the  philosophic 
and  psychologic  power  of  all  sentient  beings.  God  made 
the  devil  an  angel,  but  he  made  himself  a  devil,  by  vio- 
lent opposition  to  the  will  of  his  Creator.  This  first 
devil  had  the  power  to  conceal  himself  from  Eve,  Adam, 
and  all  other  men,  by  holding  their  eyes  from  seeing  him. 
By  his  will  he  also  had  the  power  to  use  the  organs  of 
speech  belonging  to  the  serpent,  and  which  were  quick- 
ened into  higher  capability  for  the  purpose  of  artful  de- 
ception. It  is  thus  that  mystery  vanishes  by  knowledge, 
unbelief  by  evidence,  producing  intelligent  confidence, 
or  faith,  as  the  rational  result,  and  vindicating  Scripture 
record  free  from  incongruity.  Without  a  knowledge  of 
these  facts  and  principles,  as  well  as  the  design  of  an 
author,  every  book  is  filled  with  apparent  contradictions 
and  irreconcilable  theories  ;  and  there  is  not  one  which 
may  not  be  made  to  appear  in  some  of  its  features  con- 
temptible, in  the  hands  of  a  skilful  enemy. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

WHAT    IS    A    MIRACLE? 

To  investigate  any  subject  satisfactorily  it  must  be 
treated  in  a  philosophic  manner,  and  this  supposes  accu- 
rate definition  to  be  of  pre-eminent  importance.  Truth 
courts  definition,  while  error  fears  and  abhors  it.  A 
very  large  proportion  of  the  controversies  among  men 
arise  from  no  definition,  or  an  incorrect  one ;  while  true 
definition  and  clear  statement  of  any  subject  requires  little 
else  in  its  settlement  than  illustration.  We  may  also 
remark  that  a  true  definition  commends  itself  to  the  un- 
derstanding of  all  who  are  seeking  for  truth.  We  may 
say,  a  mii-acle  is  that  of  which  nature  is  incapable.  To 
make  a  thing  out  of  nothing,  of  course  would  be  a  mira- 
cle ;  but  as  it  involves  natural  impossibility  it  cannot  be 
done,  and  if  the  Bible  declares  it  was  done,  then  it  would 
be  open  to  philosophic  and  scientific  objection.  But  the 
Bible  nowhere  claims  that  even  God  ever  made  anything 
out  of  nothing  ;  on  the  contrary,  its  terms.  Create,  Made, 
and  Formed — words  used  as  equivalents  in  describing  the 
great  work  of  bringing  the  world  and  its  inhabitants  into 
existence,  and  which  is  its  method  of  defining  the  terms 
it  uses — show  that  the  great  miracle  of  creation  consisted 
in  changing  one  form  of  matter  into  another.  For  ex- 
ample, ' '  The  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground,"  not  out  of  nothing.  '^  And  the  rib,  which  the 
Lord  God  had  taken  from  man,  made  he  a  woman." 
Here  the  woman  was  made  out  of  a  rib  of  Adam,  and 
not  out  of  nothing !  And  the  work  is  described  by  the 
word  made,  which  therefore  means  the  same  as  create,  and 
which  is  also  used  in  the  work  of  bringing  her  into  exist- 
ence, thus:  ''So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  in 
the  image  of  God  created  he  him  ;  male  and  female  ere- 


WHAT   IS   A   MIRACLE?  157 

ated  he  them."  "  And  God  formed  man  out  of  the  dust 
of  the  ground."  "  And  out  of  the  ground  the  Lord  God 
formed  every  beast  of  the  field  and  every  fowl  of  the  air. 
In  a  word,  all  nature  was  created  out  of  what  is  called 
*^  the  great  deep  " — the  mass  of  chaotic  matter  formed  at 
the  '*  beginning,"  collected  and  condensed  from  the  more 
diffuse  matter  of  space  for  the  purpose — but  which  work 
was  no  part  of  that  of  the  creation,  or  of  that  of  the  six 
days,  the  work  of  each  of  which  being  subsequently  and 
particularly  described  and  defined.  The  question,  there- 
fore, Whence  came  the  matter,  devoid  of  any  of  the  forms 
its  parts  were  made  to  assume  during  the  six  days  ?  has  no 
relevancy  to  the  subject ;  and  to  make  the  Scriptures  re- 
sponsible for  the  interpretation  of  the  Roman  priests,  that 
God  made  it  out  of  nothing,  is  simply  absurd,  and  has  no 
more  foundation  in  the  Bible  than  in  science,  not  once 
intimated  in  the  sacred  book. 

Philosophy  of  Miracles. 

As  it  requires  an  intelligent  cause  to  do  an  act  of  which 
nature  is  incapable,  it  must  be  one  of  mind  ;  for  there  is  no 
cause  but  in  mind.  A  miracle  requires  origination  ;  but 
to  originate  is  the  exclusive  work  of  mind,  demanding 
intelligence  to  conceive  and  construct,  as  well  as  will  to 
perform  :  from  which  it  follows  that  all  beings  possessed 
of  mind  are  creators,  and  the  comparative  greatness  of  the 
miracles  is  according  to  the  order  or  grade  of  the  mind 
performing  them.  The  mind  of  the  man  qualifies  him  to 
make  a  vessel  by  which  he  is  able  to  cross  the  ocean,  and 
thus  indirectly  to  overcome  the  law  of  gravity.  This  is 
the  miracle  of  a  man,  because  it  is  a  work  of  which  nature 
is  incapable.  By  mental  effort  an  angel  is  able  directly 
to  overcome  gravity,  so  as  to  walk  upon  the  water  or 
mount  into  the  air,  simply  by  controlling  the  atmos- 
pheric pressure  with  his  will ;  the  philosophy  and  science 
of  which  we  have  illustrated  in  the  discussion  of  mental- 
magnetic  power.  This  is  the  miracle  of  an  angel.  Both 
orders  of  mind  are  causes  ;  but,  properly  speaking,  they  are 
second  causes,  as  the  actors  themselves  are  effects — creat- 


158      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

ures  of  the  first  cause — and  their  creation  was  God's 
miracle.  To  this  great  mind,  therefore,  according  to  the 
stern  conchisions  of  philosophic  science,  logic,  and  fact, 
must  be  attributed  the  existence  of  the  world  and  every- 
thing, of  whatever  form  or  nature,  it  contains,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  angels  of  his  immediate  habitation.  Here  is 
the  original  mind — the  first  cause  of  all  things — whose 
personality  is  inseparable  from  intelligent  existence,  as  the 
one  implies  the  other.  Such  an  existence  no  more  de- 
pends upon  faith  or  belief  than  does  the  existence  and 
personality  of  man  to  his  fellow-man  or  to  himself,  but  is 
absolute  knowledge ;  and  the  vessel  made  by  the  man,  and 
by  which  he  crossed  the  ocean,  no  more  demonstrates  his 
personal  and  intellectual  existence  than  does  the  exist- 
ence of  the  man  himself,  as  well  as  all  other  things  which 
men,  angels,  or  nature  cannot  make,  demonstrate  the  ex- 
istence, personality,  and  intellectuality  of  God  the  Crea- 
tor himself.  Here,  in  the  necessity  of  things,  we  find  the 
absolute  cause  and  only  cause  of  all  causes,  proclaimed 
alike  by  the  harmonious  voice  of  organic  and  inorganic 
nature. 

The  only  second  causes,  as  connected  with  this  world, 
are  men  endowed  with  faculties  enabling  them  to  cause 
things  to  exist  of  which  nature  is  incapable,  including  all 
their  contrivances.  A  surgeon  sets  the  bones  of  a  broken 
limb,  so  that  it  regains  its  ordinary  strength  and  performs 
its  functions  as  before.  This  is  a  miracle  of  man.  A 
physician  cures  a  patient  of  a  disease  of  which  he  would 
otherwise  have  died.  This  is  also  a  miracle  of  man — a 
work  of  which  nature  was  incapable.  It  is  admitted  that 
both  of  the  recoveries  took  place  in  accordance  with  the 
laws  of  nature  ;  but  the  skill  and  interference  of  the  sur- 
geon and  physician  was  the  miraculous  part  of  the  work, 
while  nature  was  incapable  of  effecting  either.  If  a  man 
has  fixed  upon  himself  a  disease,  or  a  sujjposed  one,  by 
simply  a  morbid,  mental  impression,  called  "imagina- 
tion," which  if  not  removed  would  prove  fatal — (such  as 
the  following,  which  happened  but  a  little  time  ago:  A 
woman  in  Massachusetts  imagined  she  had  an  internal 
cancer,   and  held  to  the  conviction  in  spite  of  positive 


WHAT   IS   A   MIRACLE?  1 59 

denial  by  reputable  physicians ;  and  she  died  of  cancer, 
when  an  autopsy  disclosed  the  fact  that  she  had  no  disease 
whatever) — another  succeeds  in  removing  it  by  a  counter 
impression  of  greater  strength,  either  by  reasoning  or  ad- 
ministering some  simple  substance  having  no  curative 
properties,  but  which  he  was  induced  to  believe  was  a 
sure  remedy,  and  the  patient  recovered.  Here  was  a 
miracle  ;  because  a  process  of  which  nature  was  incapable 
— one  of  supernatural  power,  and  yet  it  was  in  accordance 
with  the  natural  law  between  mind  and  vitality.  It  is 
within  these  limits  that  men  with  their  natural  powers  are 
able  to  perform  miracles. 

The  Conditions  upon  which  Men  may  Work  Christ' s 
Miracles. 

Let  us  now  bring  Christ  into  the  work.  Here  is  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Lazarus,  who  had  died  and  had 
been  buried  four  days  :  * '  I  say  unto  you  plainly,  Lazarus 
is  dead."  This  man  died  of  some  vital  disease,  and 
never  could  have  lived  again,  unless  the  vital  parts  were 
restored,  so  that  they  would  again  perform  their  part  in 
the  vital  economy.  It  is  evident  that  to  do  this  demands 
the  same  degree  of  knowledge  and  skill  as  that  displayed 
in  making  the  vital  organs  of  the  first  living  man  ;  and  as 
this  is  the  greatest  manifestation  of  skill  and  power  the 
universe  manifests,  none  but  the  Creator  could  have  per- 
formed it.  But  Christ  did  the  work,  and  the  dead  man 
lived.  It  is  also  evident  that,  if  this  being  should  choose 
so  to  do,  he  could  say  to  a  man,  I  am  going  to  leave  the 
world  personally,  and  I  desire  still  to  manifest  this  power 
in  it,  and  if  you  will  follow  my  example  and  directions, 
you  may  do  just  such  acts  as  this.  I  do  not  propose  to 
delegate  to  you  my  knowledge  or  power,  to  be  perma- 
nently used  as  your  own ;  but  when  you  desire^to  cast 
out  devils,  cure  diseases,  and  even  to  raise  the  dead  to 
life,  and  will  call  on  my  name,  I  will  know  it,  and  if  your 
motive  is  my  honor,  my  glory,  and  in  every  case  which 
will  subserve  my  cause,  I  will  do  the  work  :  thus  may 
men  work  the  works  of  God.      In  such  a  work  there  is  no 


l60      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

more  mystery  than  that  God  or  man  hves,  and  he  who 
cannot  conceive  such  a  philosophy  can  scarcely  be  con- 
sidered an  accountable  being ; — not  able  to  reason  from 
effects  to  causes,  or  comprehend  the  necessary  superiority 
and  priority  of  the  cause. 

To  understand  nature,  involving  her  interdependent 
relations,  any  man  would  know  that,  aside  from  mind, 
there  was  nothing  but  effects — not  a  phenomenon  in  the 
unknowing  universe,  even  of  the  most  simple  form,  but 
which  is  the  direct  or  remote  effect,  and  therefore  the 
effect  of  an  effect,  and  so  on  endlessly,  until  philosophic 
and  mathematical  inquiry  is  exhausted  ;  and  yet  the  cause 
lies  beyond,  above,  and  prior  to  the  living,  moving  uni- 
verse of  effect — consequently  supernatural.  This  involves 
the  conclusion  that,  instead  of  there  being  no  miracles, 
everything,  as  the  effect  of  mind,  is  miraculous,  because 
nature  is,  and  always  was,  incapable  of  bringing  one  of 
the  least  of  these  into  existence. 

The  Scoffer' s  Superficial  Ideas. 

IngersoU  says:  "  If  we  believe  in  a  power  superior  to 
nature,  it  is  perfectly  natural  that  such  a  power  can  and 
will  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  the  world.  If  there  is  no  in- 
terference, of  what  practical  use  can  such  a  power  be?  " 
Here  the  absurdity  is  implied  that  the  existence  or  non- 
existence of  such  a  power  depends  upon  whether  men  be- 
lieve it  or  not.  In  the  estimation  of  such  a  mind,  what  a 
powerful  thing  is  belief  or  unbelief?  It  may  be  of  no 
practical  use  to  the  assassin  that  the  officers  of  the  law 
should  interfere  in  his  affairs  ;  but  they  interfere  just  the 
same.  It  is  of  no  practical  use  to  mankind  that  such  a 
power  did  interfere  and  make  this  boasting  piece  of  hu- 
manity, nor  that  he  should  ever  interfere  to  dispossess  his 
enemioij,  and  give  the  inheritance  to  his  own  loving, 
loyal  subjects  ;  but  he  will  interfere  just  the  same.  Had 
he  qualified  ''  mankind,"  to  whom  such  interference  was 
of  no  use,  to  mean  those  who  hated  God  and  his  pro- 
posed universal  government  of  righteousness,  we  agree 
with  him  that  to  such  it  will  be  of  no  practical  use;  but 


WHAT   IS   A   MIRACLE?  l6l 

he  will  interfere  just  the  same,  and  ■  without  consulting 
their  wishes,  and  to  the  infinite  advantage  of  his  people. 
But  as  Ingersoll  is  totally  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  a 
Being  superior  to  nature,  he  must  also  be  of  the  purposes 
for  which  he  has  interfered,  and  proposes  to  interfere,  in 
the  affairs  of  men.  Hence,  as  we  see,  he  is  unable  fo 
talk  about  the  subject  with  the  least  sense  or  dignity,  but 
plays  with  the  words  concerning  it,  as  a  child  does  with 
his  toys. 

He  says  :  "  The  Scriptures  give  us  the  most  wonderful 
accounts  of  divine  interference  :  Animals  talk  like  men  " 
[but  is  it  not  more  consistent  for  an  ass  to  talk  like  a 
man  than  for  a  man  to  talk  like  an  ass  ?]  ;  "  springs  gurgle 
from  dry  bones  ' '  [how  funny  that  seems  to  be  to  his  sa- 
gacious mind]  ;  '^  the  sun  and  moon  stop  in  the  heavens, 
in  order  to  give  General  Joshua  more  time  to  murder" 
[the  scoffer  seems  never  to  tire  in  repeating  this  stale 
slander]  ;  "  the  shadow  on  a  dial  goes  back  ten  degrees, 
to  convince  a  petty  king  of  a  barbarous  people  that  he  is 
not  going  to  die  of  a  boil."  [Here  our  truth-seeker  tells 
several  lies.  It  was  not  a  petty  king,  but  Hezekiah  king 
of  Judah  ;  and  not  of  a  barbarous  people,  but  the  most 
enlightened  and  civihzed  people  of  the  world  up  to  that 
period,  and  having  the  best  code  of  laws  for  the  develop- 
ment of  virtue  and  knowledge  that  has  ever  existed,  and 
whose  provisions  were  formulated  by  Christ  into  the 
golden  rule.]  ''  All  other  nations,  even  the  civilized  and 
learned  Grecian,  with  her  seven  wise  men,  taught  the 
people  to  make  gods  with  their  own  hands,  and  that  these 
were  so  superior  to  themselves  that  they  were  to  fall  down 
and  worship  before  their  shrines." 

In  view  of  which,  why  does  not  this  abusive  slanderer 
of  God  and  his  people  stigmatize  all  the  other  nations  of 
the  world  barbarous  ?  The  answer  is,  the  God  of  the 
Bible  is  the  only  one' who  has  issued  laws  to  restrain  his 
heart  and  will,  and  lives  to  execute  their  penalty ;  but 
he  seems  to  act  upon  the  fool-hardy  theory  that  if  he 
does  not  believe  it,  he  will  escape  justice  being  done  him. 
^'  Fires  refuse  to  burn."  [Yes,  but  an  angel  was  in  the 
flaming  furnace  with  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  into  which 


l62      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

they  had  been  cast  for  refusing  to  imitate  the  barbarous 
worshippers  of  a  brazen  image  the  king  had  set  up,  and 
who  commanded  all  men  to  prostrate  themselves  before 
it ;  and  an  angel  has  the  power,  when  sent  by  God  for 
the  purpose,  to  deprive  fire  of  its  power  to  burn,  and  by  a 
reversion  to  cause  the  heavens  to  rain  fire  and  brimstone 
to  consume  the  cities  of  the  plains.]  "  Water  positively 
declines  to  seek  its  level."  [Could  not  the  God  who  made 
the  waters,  and  carries  them  into  the  heavens  that  they 
may  rain  down  again,  by  a  change  of  their  temperature, 
have  carried  them  up  a  hill  not  as  high  as  heaven,  and 
let  them  run  down  on  the  other  side  ?  The  trouble  with 
the  scoffer  is,  that  he  has  got  in  his  head  the  fool's 
thought  of  no  God,  which  prevents  anything  unperverted 
from  entering  its  dark  chambers  relating  to  these  subjects.] 
''Grains  of  sand  become  lice."  [Lice  exist,  and  God 
made  them  ;  and  certain  grains  of  sand,  or  other  dirt,  in 
children's  heads,  become  lice.  Do  you  say  this  is  the 
work  of  nature  ?  Well,  is  nature  greater  than  the  Maker 
of  nature  ?  But  nature  makes  nothing,  and  is  wholly  the 
work  of  God.  In  view  of  which,  the  only  force  there  is 
in  the  scoffer's  lying  relates  to  the  number  of  the  lice 
God  sent  to  plague  a  proud  king  for  making  war  upon 
his  people,  who,  hke  Ingersoll,  defied  him  ;  but  he  per- 
ished in  the  end,  as  all  such  do  or  will.] 

''  Common  walking  sticks,  to  gratify  a  mere  freak, 
twist  themselves  into  serpents,  and  swallow  each  other 
by  way  of  exercise."  [This  is  funny,  yet  studied  blas- 
phemy, committed  to  gratify  the  sordid  purpose  of  making 
fools  laugh  to  get  their  money.  Instead  of  this  being  a 
common  walking  stick,  when  in  the  hand  of  the  servant 
of  God  it  embodied  almighty  power,  and  was  the  most 
dreadful  instrument  that  ever  scourged  a  nation  of  God's 
enemies.  Before  it  Red  Seas  and  mighty  kings  and  their 
armies  are  as  the  dust  of  the  balance  !  Ask  Pharaoh  and 
his  extinct  army,  whose  dead  carcasses  sank  like  lead  in 
the  mighty  waters  and  were  dashed  against  their  rocky 
shores,  about  this  rod ;  and,  could  they  answer,  O  what 
an  expression  of  horror  would  be  heard  !  But  how  inad- 
equate is  the  mental  conception  of  the  slanderer  of  God's 


WHAT   IS   A    MIRACLE?  163 

mighty  acts  to  comprehend  these  things  !  He  interprets 
this  childish  mentahty  to  be  progress,  and  whatever 
phase  of  the  subject  he  contemplates,  it  diminishes  to 
microscopic  littleness  and  gross  absurdity.]  "  Prophecy 
becomes  altogether  easier  than  history."  [Here  his  mind, 
little  as  it  is,  seemed  to  have  stopped  working  altogeth- 
er while  the  talking-machine  went  on,  uttering  the  ab- 
surdity of  quoting  history  and  declaring  it  prophecy  !] 
"  The  sons  of  God  became  enamoured  of  the  world's 
girls."  [We  wonder  if  it  was  news  to  the  crowd  in 
Booth's  Theatre,  that  only  the  antediluvians  became  en- 
amoured with  the  girls  of  the  world  ?]  ' '  Women  are 
changed  into  salt,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a  great 
event  fresh  in  the  minds  of  men."  [Another  scoffing  he  ; 
it  was  because  she  disobeyed  the  command  of  God's 
angel-servant  and  looked  doubtingly  back,  that  she  was 
thus  changed.] 

*'  An  excellent  article  of  brimstone  is  imported  from 
heaven  free  of  duty."  [He  seems  to  think  that  if  he 
makes  fun  of  the  fire  and  brimstone,  it  won't  burn  him. 
About  the  Sodomites  he  does  not  seem  to  be  very  curious. 
Their  doom,  however,  is  set  forth  as  the  example  of  all 
such  scoffers.  "  Even  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  the 
cities  about  them,  are  set  forth  for  an  example,  suffering 
the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire."]  Here  is  the  doom  of  all 
who  speak  evil  of  those  things  which  they  know  not 
(and  the  history  of  the  world  does  not  furnish  a  more 
striking  example  of  this  ignorant  speaking  than  IngersoU 
himself);  but  what  they  know  as  natural  brute  beasts,  in 
those  things  they  corrupt  themselves.  ''  Woe  unto  them  ! 
they  have  gone  in  the  way  of  Cain,  and  ran  greedily 
after  the  error  of  Balaam  for  reward."      (Jude.) 

Balaam  was  willing  to  curse  the  children  of  God  for 
money ;  but  IngersoU,  an  advanced  son  of  the  false 
prophet,  not  only  delights  in  the  cursing  and  bitterness 
against  the  servants  of  God,  the  holy  of  the  ages,  but 
blasphemes  God  himself,  his  word,  and  his  angels,  and  for 
the  low  gratification  of  exciting  a  laugh  and,  lower  still, 
for  making  money — the  wages  of  unrighteousness  ;  which 
wages  is   death.       ''  Clothes  refuse  to  wear  out  for  forty 


1 64     CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

years."  [This  philosophic  scientist  cannot  conceive 
how  God,  in  order  to  make  wool  for  clothing,  could 
make  the  sheep  first — the  indirect  method  ;  how  much  less 
that  he  should  have  made  the  wool  directly  of  the  ele- 
ments of  which  he  formed  the  sheep,  causing  their  chem- 
ical atoms,  floating  in  surrounding  nature,  to  adhere  to  a 
man's  coat,  in  order  to  restore  the  ordinary  wear  or  de- 
cay, although  it  is  a  fact  that  he  is  thus  clothing  and 
restoring  all  the  organic  things  of  nature.  According  to 
IngersoU,  God  is  a  very  poor  and  inconsistent  mechanic  ; 
he  can  make  things  on  a  large  scale,  but  cannot  on  a 
small  one ;  he  can  make  them  in  an  indirect  manner,  but 
cannot  do  it  directly,  as  in  the  case  of  the  wool,  by  mak- 
ing the  sheep-machines  first.  He  can  make  a  series  of 
coats  for  forty  years  indirectly  to  clothe  his  enemy,  In- 
gersoU ;  but  he  cannot  directly  restore  the  clothing  of  his 
friends,  and  that,  too,  after  he  had  brought  them  into  an 
emergency  where  their  clothing  and  shoes  wore  out  and 
they  had  no  material  of  which  to  make  more.  But  In- 
gersoU does  not  know  that  there  is  a  God,  and  this  makes 
his  sayings  still  more  absurd  as  to  what  he  is  able  or  un- 
able to  do,  or  whether  it  is  consistent  for  him  to  do  it.] 
"  Besides  keeping  restaurants  to  feed  wandering  proph- 
ets free  of  expense."  [Why  not  feed  his  own  holy 
prophets,  who  flee  into  the  wilderness  from  the  face  of 
such  hating  slanderers,  and  with  whom  be  declares  he  can- 
not live  in  peace  in  the  same  world,  as  to  feed  him  with 
the  money  he  gets  for  abusing  them  and  their  Lord  at 
expensive  hotels  and  restaurants  ?  Yes  !  feed  them  with 
flocks  of  live  birds  from  heaven;  as  him  with  dead  birds 
washed  down  with  costly  wine  and  other  stronger  drinks.] 
"Bears  tear  children  in  pieces  for  laughing  at  old 
men  without  wigs."  [God  made  the  law  of  humanity  :  ] 
*'Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  honor 
the  face  of  an  old  man  "  (Lev.  19:  23),  and  at  which 
IngersoU  thus  scoffs ;  but  the  children  with  whom  he 
naturally  takes  side,  had  been  taught  and  had  learned  to 
despise  this  law  and  mock  God's  holy  prophet :  "And 
as  Elisha  was  going  up  to  Beth-el  [to  worship]  there 
came  forth  little  children  out  of  the  city,  and  mocked 


WHAT  IS  A   MIRACLE?  165 

him,  and  said,  Go  up,  thou  bald  head ;  go  up,  thou  bald 
head.  And  he  turned  back,  and  cursed  them,  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  And  there  came  forth  two  she  bears  out  of 
the  wood,  and  tare  forty  and  two  children  of  them."  (2 
Kings  2  :  23,  24.) 

If  these  little  children  had  been  taught  thus  early  to 
mock  God's  aged  and  honored  prophet,  they  would  have 
all  become  Ingersolls  when  grown  to  maturity,  and,  like 
their  antitype,  would  have  scoffed  at  and  mocked,  not 
only  his  prophets,  but  God  himself.  It  seems  natural 
that  the  scoffer  should  dislike  to  hear  about  God's  tearing 
people  to  pieces  for  irreverence  toward  his  servants  and 
himself,  as  it  indicates  his  own  coming  doom  written 
in  advance,  thus  :  "Now  consider  this,  ye  that  forget 
God,  lest  I  tear  you  in  pieces,  and  there  be  none  to  de- 
liver." (Ps.  50:22.)  "  Muscular  development  depends 
upon  the  length  of  one's  hair. ' '  [This  is  a  cunning  saying, 
and  is  meant  for  a  pun  upon  Samson,  one  of  the  judges 
of  Israel ;  but  as  usual,  it  is  a  lying  misrepresentation, 
for  the  strength  of  Samson  was  a  direct  inspiration  of 
God,  given  at  every  time  of  need,  and  not  his  normal 
condition.]  "  Dead  people  come  to  life  simply  to  get 
a  joke  on  their  enemies. ' '  [As  there  is  no  such  record 
in  the  Bible,  it  must  be  put  down  to  the  scoffer's  credit 
of  becoming  exhausted  for  things  to  ridicule,  which 
obliges  him  to  stop,  or  make  facts  for  the  purpose.] 
"Witches  and  wizards  converse  freely  with  the  souls  of 
the  departed."  [We  suppose  this  allusion  is  intended 
for  the  account  relating  to  the  witch  of  Endor  and  the 
prophet  Samuel ;  but  there  was  no  communication  or 
conversation  between  the  witch  and  the  prophet,  and, 
as  usual,  the  scorner  misunderstands  and  misquotes  the 
record.  This  we  have  shown  in  another  place.]  "  God 
himself  becomes  a  stone-cutter  and  engraver,  after  hav- 
ing been  a  tailor  and  dressmaker."  Here  the  scoffer's 
slanders  and  blasphemies  reach  their  climax,  and  we  only 
ask  our  readers  to  behold  the  silly  braggart ! 


1 66   CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 


Shallow  Thinking  of  Freethinkers. 

Ingersoll  says,  ''The  people  are  beginning  to  think, 
reason,  and  investigate.  ■  The  first  doubt  was  the  want 
and  cradle  of  progress.  Don't  keep  back  your  doubts; 
cherish  them,  they  are  the  sources  of  all  your  knowledge. 
Slowly,  patiently,  but  surely,  the  gods  are  being  driven 
from  the  earth. ' '  [Exactly  the  reverse  of  this,  as  we  have 
shown  is  true.  It  is  a  law  of  mind  that  evidence  com- 
pels belief,  and  belief  removes  doubt ;  the  doubt  exists 
for  the  want  of  evidence  to  remove  it ;  and  this  is  ignor- 
ance instead  of  knowledge  :  therefore,  to  cherish  doubts  is 
to  cherish  ignorance.]  ''The  first  doubt  was  the  cradle 
of  progress."  No  sir  !  it  was  the  cradle  of  blind  ignor- 
ance, and  the  first  evidence — the  precursor  of  belief — 
banished  it ;  so  that  he  virtually  says,  what  he  is  too 
proud  to  acknowledge  if  he  conceives  it:  "Don't  keep 
back  your  doubts  ;  they  are  the  cradle  of  your  ignorance. ' ' 
Doubts  have  no  evidence  as  their  bases,  produce  no 
conviction,  beget  no  conception  of  the  existence  of 
things  or  beings,  or  ideas  of  their  qualities,  and  therefore 
engender  no  knowledge ;  for  knowledge  is  the  result  of 
conception,  conception  of  conviction,  conviction  of 
evidence ;  and  evidence  is  the  result  of  intelligent  exist- 
ence, as  you  can  have  no  evidence  of  non-existence.  This 
is  knowledge ;  to  obtain  which  is  to  think,  to  reason, 
and  investigate. 

TJic  Kfio7iiil{'(lge  wJiich  Expelled  the  Doubt. 

To  illustrate  still  further  this  fimdamental  law  of  intelli- 
gence, of  knowledge,  let  us  suppose  that  I  am  told  for  the 
first  time  the  world  and  everything  it  contains  evolved 
out  of  its  own  resources,  and  was  not  created  ;  that  there 
is  nothing  superior  to  nature  itself,  and  no  supernatural 
being  in  existence,  or  one  who  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  world  or  its  inhabitants.  Uj)  to  this  time  I  had  an 
opinion  of  these  existences,  but  had  never  investigated 
the  subject ;   but  now  I  begin  to  think,  to  reason,  to  in- 


WHAT  IS  A  MIRACLE?  167 

vestigate  the  new  proposition.  In  the  first  place,  I  ob- 
serve that  I  have  a  father  and  a  mother,  and  by  observing 
others  born  into  the  world,  as  well  as  the  remembrance  of 
my  own  childhood,  that  I  was  also  born.  My  observing 
and  association  extends  back  three  generations  to  my 
great -grandparents,  and  forward  to  my  own  children,  and 
I  see  that  each  child  during  these  generations  had  two 
progenitors — parents.  From  these  facts  I  conclude  that 
such  must  have  been  true  of  every  generation  of  man- 
kind. Another  fact  of  existence  forces  itself  upon  my 
mind  ;  which  is,  that  one  generation  succeeds  another  in 
coming  into  existence.  I  think  and  reason  upon  the  sub- 
ject ;  I  commence  at  the  last  generation  and  count  back 
until  I  come  to  the  first,  which  forces  me  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  there  was  a  first  generation,  and  that  its  parent- 
age consisted  of  a  single  man  and  woman — a  male  and 
female. 

All  Mankind  Created  in  Adam  and  Eve. 

It  is  a  fact  that  the  first  man  and  woman  was  not  a 
generation,  as  they  were  not  generated  ;  for  had  they  been 
generated  they  must  have  had  parental  generators,  and 
therefore  could  not  have  been  the  first  generation  ;  and  as 
they  were  the  first  they  must  have  been  created  progeni- 
tors. It  is  a  fact  that  the  first  generation  did  evolve  from 
the  first  progenitors,  and  so  down  the  succession  of  the 
two  hundred  generations  of  mankind  who  have  lived  and 
died^during  the  ages  of  the  world.  By  thus  thinking, 
reasoning,  and  investigating,  I  discover  another  fact, 
namely,  that  a  thing  cannot  evolve  or  come  out  of  that 
which  did  not  possess  it,  at  least  in  embryonical,  rudi- 
mental  form,  as  seed,  and  therefore  that  the  evolution 
necessitated  prior  involution.  This  being  a  fact  of  all  the 
generations  which  come  within  our  experience  and  ob- 
servation, as  well  as  being  corroborated  by  universal  his- 
tory, demonstrates  it  to  be  as  true  of  every  generation 
from  the  first  as  of  the  last  one  born  into  the  world. 
Therefore  the  evolution  of  each  generation  was  preceded 
by  the  embryonic  involution  of  each  ;  and  as  the  evo- 
lution of  the  last  generation  did  not  take  place  until  the 


l68      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

prior  involution,  neither  could  this  have  been  true  of  any 
succeeding  the  first ;  but  as  the  first  parents  had  no  pa- 
rents, they  did  not  evolve,  and  were  therefore  created. 
We  also  observe  that  through  all  these  phenomena  nat- 
ure has  worked  with  constant  and  undeviating  uniform' 
ity,  proclaimed  by  the  universal  voice  of  organic  being, 
''everything  after  its  kind."  A  created  thing  involves 
the  necessity  of  a  Creator,  and  the  whole  creation  that  of 
his  interference  with  mankind  and  the  world,  and  of 
course  which  makes  him  absolute  owner — universal  pro- 
prietor. We  also  see  by  these  facts  of  philosophic  science, 
attested  by  universal  observation  and  experience,  that  nat- 
ure originated  nothing  in  the  whole  process  ;  which  had 
she  done,  it  would  have  contradicted  her  uniformity. 
Here  we  have  the  conclusion  that,  instead  of  nature  hav- 
ing done  all  the  work  she  manifests,  as  the  self-styled 
freethinkers  (a  gross  misnomer)  suppose  and  claim,  God 
the  Creator  was  the  only  original  cause,  which  idea  is  ir- 
reconcilable with  himself  being  any  part  of  nature.  He 
made  the  first  pair,  male  and  female,  and  in  that  act  in- 
volved all  future  generations,  or,  properly  speaking,  creat- 
ed all  in  the  one  pair  and  at  once,  superseding  all  further 
interference  in  running  the  great  machine  of  human  ex- 
istence ;  and  in  antithesis  to  your  advice,  ''  cherish  your 
doubts,"  we  put  Paul's  emphatic  words,  ''  He  that  doubt- 
eth  is  damned."  (Rom.  14:  23.)  So  surely  will  this 
be  the  doom,  unless  the  doubter  repents,  that  it  is  ex- 
pressed as  already  done. 

Here,  Mr.  Ingersoll,  is  what  we  have  discovered  by 
thinking,  reasoning,  and  investigation.  Your  doctrine, 
that  there  was  no  living  God,  or  God-interference  in  the 
affairs  of  mankind,  made  me  doubt ;  and  the  doubt  de- 
stroyed the  opinion  to  the  contrary,  and  the  little  knowl- 
edge had  u])on  the  sul)ject  ;  but  by  thought,  reason,  and 
patient  investigation,  slowly  but  surely  we  have  arrived 
at  positive  knowledge  upon  all  these  questions,  with  not  a 
doubt  remaining  such  as  you  in  ignorance  advise  your 
hearers  to  cherish  as  the  cradle  of  progress — sources  of 
knowledge.  O  what  a  state  of  mind  to  be  in  !  We  have 
heard  of  men  selling  themselves  to  the  devil ;  but  if  this 


WHAT  IS  A  MIRACLE?  169 

arrogant  scoffer  has  not  brought  about  such  a  trade,  it 
would  seem  as  though  he  has  so  disgraced  the  work  of  his 
master  by  overdoing  it,  that  the  devil  would  give  noth- 
ing for  him.  It  is  evident  from  IngersoU's  hard  speeches 
and  crude  sayings,  that  they  are  founded  upon  the  theory 
of  no  God-interference  with  man  and  the  world  ;  but  as 
this  is  the  doubting  of  ignorance,  it  follows  that  there  is 
not  the  least  force  or  truth  in  his  godless  lecture  on  the 
gods.  But  as  we  intend  to  give  his  ism  a  full  and  pub- 
lic exposure,  we  must  continue  to  pursue  him  and  the 
lecture,  the  master-piece  of  his  publications ;  and  to  omit 
any  of  his  objections  to  the  Bible  or  its  author  might 
leave  ground  for  his  friends  to  claim  them  to  be  unanswer- 
able, which  we  cannot  afford  to  do.  ''Only  upon  rare 
occasions  are  the  gods,  even  by  the  most  religious,  sup- 
posed to  interfere  now  in  the  affairs  of  men."  [This  is 
not  true,  even  of  a  single  idolatrous  religion  ;  the  history 
of  each  shows  that  their  most  intelligent  expounders  hold 
that  the  gods  do  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  each  individual, 
even  to  take  notice  of  the  motives  which  actuate  them. 
The  reason  why  Christians  do  not  so  much  believe  in  the 
interference  of  God  in  their  affairs  in  the  present  life,  is 
because  they  understand  the  Scriptures,  which  teach  that 
the  present  world  is  one  of  probation  and  trial,  and  that 
the  future,  from  the  judgment  onward,  is  that  of  retribu- 
tion, when  God  is  to  take  the  affairs  of  every  man  into 
his  own  hands,  rewarding  or  punishing  each  according  to 
what  had  been  his  belief,  and  obedience,  at  the  time  he 
left  the  mortal  world.]  "In  most  matters,  at  least, 
we  are  supposed  to  be  free."  [Just  as  though  it  had 
been  taught,  by  the  most  religious  people,  that  the  inter- 
ference of  God  in  their  affairs  made  them  slaves,  whereas 
a  Christian  is  the  only  man  free  from  the  slavery  of  his 
own  passions,  free  from  the  conviction  of  having  his 
maker  his  enemy,  and  free  from  the  apprehension  of  the 
loss  of  eternal  life,  and  the  endless  gain  of  the  kingdom 
of  God.  IngersoU's  conception  of  freedom  seems  to  be 
that  of  an  anarchist,  unrestrained  by  any  law ;  an  out- 
law, free  to  do  as  he  pleases,  without  regard  to  God  or 
man,  especially  as  it  relates  to  the  coming  word.] 


170     CONFLICT  OF  THE   NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 


The  Scoffer' s  Ignorance  of  Christian  Faith. 

He  says  :  ''  The  doctrine  that  future  happiness  depends 
upon  beHef  is  monstrous :  it  is  the  infamy  of  infamies. 
The  notion  that  faith  in  Christ  is  to  be  rewarded  by  an 
eternity  of  bhss,  while  a  dependence  upon  reason,  obser- 
vation, and  experience  merits  everlasting  pain,  is  too  ab- 
surd for  refutation,  and  can  only  be  relieved  by  that 
happy  mixture  of  insanity  and  ignorance,  called  faith." 
The  doctrine  of  faith  is  not  only  taught  in  Scripture,  but 
is  a  principle  of  universal  practice  in  all  the  reciprocities 
of  human  society  and  commerce,  and  is  the  very  basis  of 
moral  philosophy,  conceded  and  acted  upon  by  the  great 
mass  of  the  most  virtuous  and  intelligent  of  mankind  ; 
and  is  composed  of  the  same  elements  or  principles, 
whether  the  faith  is  between  man  and  man,  or  between 
man  and  his  Maker  ;  the  fundamental  principles  of  which 
are  trust,  promise,  and  veracity  !  That  faith  should  be 
characterized  as  being  too  absurd  for  refutation,  shows  the 
boundless  egotism,  arrogance,  and  ignorance  of  this  man. 
Could  a  man  have  a  friend  whom  he  did  not  believe  ex- 
isted ?  If  not,  then  unbelief  buries  the  friendship  of  the 
world.  If  we  did  not  have  faith  in  the  veracity  of  others, 
how  could  the  ordinary  business  transactions  of  life  be 
carried  on  ?  If  we  did  not  believe  in  the  promises  of 
reward  for  service  rendered,  could  society  exist?  Unbe- 
lief insults  all  who  thus  i)romise ;  for  what  greater  insult 
can  be  committed  against  one  who  has  pledged  his  word 
to  reward  another,  to  whom  he  w^ould  reply,  ''  I  do  not 
beheve  one  word  you  say,  not  even  your  oath."  Could 
or  would  God  or  man  do  the  least  act  of  kindness  for 
such  a  man,  without  repentance?  If  God  made  faith  in 
him — which  implies  confidence  in  his  existence,  reliance 
ui)on  his  word  of  promise  and  oath,  and  that  he  had  the 
al)ility  to  read  the  heart  as  to  its  existence — would  it  not 
be  the  surest  test  of  honest  loyalty,  the  highest  of  virt- 
ues? as  everything  else  might  be  deceptive  and  false.  In 
view  of  which,  what  could  equally  manifest  the  low 
thoughts  of  IngersoU  as  to  stigmatize  faith  as  the  infamy 


WHAT  IS  A   MIRACLE?  I/I 

of  infamies,  because  God  promises  to  honor  it  with  the 
gift  of  eternal  Hfe?  His  hatred  of  the  doctrine  he  thus 
stigmatizes  shows  he  has  some  apprehension  of  the  conse- 
quences of  unbehef,  as  an  absurdity,  or  that  which  is 
conceived  so  to  be,  never  calls  forth  such  bitter  expres- 
sion. Here,  in  gross  violation  of  truth  and  fair  dealing, 
he  separates  works  from  faith,  wdiich  are  indissolubly  con- 
nected, as  the  fruit  to  the  tree  and  streams  to  the  fount- 
ain, thus  changing  the  condition  of  salvation ;  and  de- 
nounces his  own  work  as  the  infamy  of  infamies.  By  a 
sentence  in  this  manner  does  IngersoU  destroy  the  foun- 
dations of  revealed  religion  in  the  minds  of  those  ignorant 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  which  obliges  us  to  refute  by  pre- 
senting the  doctrine  as  taught  therein.  The  Scripture 
teaching  upon  the  subject  is  that  God  is  jealous  of  his 
word  and  honor,  whether  it  relates  to  belief  or  action. 
It  is  the  Creator  who  makes  the  demand  upon  the  creat- 
ures of  his  handy-work,  which  fact  vindicates  its  right- 
eousness !  Man  is  proud  and  self-willed,  and  for  a  time 
all  resist  God's  commands  and  demands.  Here  is  antag- 
onism, rendering  it  necessary  that  one  party  shall  yield 
in  order  that  they  may  live  together  in  peace ;  conse- 
quently, if  ever,  there  will  be  universal  peace  between 
God  and  his  living  creatures,  which,  foreseeing  he  will  be 
able  to  bring  about,  has  pledged  his  word,  oath,  and 
honor  to  establish.  To  such  a  state  of  atonement  or 
reconciliation,  one  of  the  parties  must  yield  to  the  will  of 
the  other ;  the  creature  or  the  Creator  must  triumph,  and, 
in  that  case,  God  or  the  finally  impenitent  must  perish. 
This  includes  every  hostile  will,  whether  of  man  or 
devil,  or  wherever  existing  in  the  universe  of  the  Creator, 
which  universal  peace  "renders  a  philosophic  necessity. 

God  does  not  make  demands  of  submission  simply  as 
sovereign ;  but  reasons  with  his  enemies  to  induce  them 
to  yield  by  promising  them  an  endless  inheritance  in  the 
re-creation  of  the  present  world — '^the  world  to  come," 
in  which  they  will  no  more  be  subject  to  suffering  or 
death,  thus  elevated  to  the  enjoyment  of  eternal  bliss. 
''And  Jesus,  answering,  said  unto  them.  The  children  of  this 
world  marry  and  are  given  in  marriage ;  but  they  which 


1/2      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

shall  be  counted  worthy  to  obtain  tliat  world,  and  the 
resurrection  from  the  dead,  neither  marry  nor  are  given 
in  marriage ;  neither  can  they  die  any  more  :  for  they  are 
equal  unto  the  angels  [in  this  respect],  and  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  being  the  children  of  the  resurrection." 
(Luke  20  :  34-36.)  ''  Jesus  said  unto  her,  I  am  the  resur- 
rection, and  the  life  :  he  that  believeth  in  me,  though 
he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live."  (John  11  :  25.)  "  Mar- 
vel not  at  this  :  for  the  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all 
that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have  done  good, 
unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and  they  that  have  done 
evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation."  (John  5  :  28- 
29.)  This  testimony  also  settles  the  question  that  some 
had  died  and  were  raised  from  the  dead  at  the  end  of  the 
world,  with  wills  still  antagonistic  to  the  will  of  God,  and 
that  this  is  the  time  appointed  for  their  destruction,  and 
which  is  corroborated  by  scores  of  passages  such  as  this : 
*'  Who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power; 
when  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  to  be 
admired  in  all  them  that  believe."    (2  Thess.  i  :  9,  10.) 

Re-creation — tJie  World  JVithoiit  End. 

Christ  gave  John  a  revelation  of  the  present  world 
after  it  had  been  destroyed  by  fire,  about  which  he  wrote 
thus  :  ' '  And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  :  for 
the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away ; 
and  there  was  no  more  sea.  And  I,  John,  saw  the  holy 
city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  God  out  of 
heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband. 
And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying,  Behold, 
the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with 
them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  [not 
merely  by  his  Spirit,  as  at  i)resent]  shall  be  with  them, 
and  be  their  God."  (Rev.  21  :  1-4.)  In  answer  to  the 
scoffers,  all  that  is  necessary  to  say  in  regard  to  the  execu- 
tion of  this  work  is,  that  he  who  made  the  present  world 
to  answer  a  temi)orary  purpose  is  able  to  remake  it  to  sub- 


WHAT   IS   A   MIRACLE?  I73 

serve  an  endless  purpose.  He  who  created  man  suscep- 
tible of  temporal  life,  is  able  to  re-create,  resurrect  him, 
to  be  the  immortal  inhabitant  of  the  world  without  end. 
He  who  built  the  solar  system,  drew  the  plan  and  gave 
it  to  David  of  the  temple  built  in  the  city  of  the  old  Jeru- 
salem, as  grand  Master-Builder,  is  able  to  build  the  im- 
perishable, golden,  jeweled  city,  the  antitypic  Jerusalem, 
''  which  hath  foundations  [twelve]  eternal  in  the  heavens 
[new  heavens],  and  without  human  hands,"  as  the  Jerusa- 
lem and  temple  which  came  to  an  end  was. 

J^ai^/i  is  to  Believe  God  will  Keep  his  Promise. 

We  have  now  considered  faith  as  a  philosophic  prin- 
ciple and  of  universal  acceptation  and  practice,  founded 
upon  the  most  profound  reasoning ;  and  if  the  Scripture 
record  of  its  nature  be  true,  it  must  accord  with  that  thus 
established,  and  the  question  is.  What  saith  the  Scriptures 
upon  the  subject  ?  We  may  remark  that  biblical  faith  is 
to  believe  with  the  heart,  to  love  the  things  promised 
and  the  conditions  upon  which  they  are  to  be  conferred ; 
in  a  word,  believe  that  God  tells  the  truth.  And  this  is 
what  IngersoU  calls  absurd,  even  infamous  !  As  the  faith 
of  Abraham  is  the  model  of  both  Testaments,  and  of  all 
time,  all  nations,  all  the  famihes  of  the  earth,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  have  clear  ideas  of  its  revelation.  God 
promised  Abraham  and  his  seed  (and  his  seed  were  to  be 
those  of  all  nations,  generations,  and  families  of  the  world, 
the  individuals — males  and  females — who  believed  the 
words,  loved  him  who  made  them,  and  were  obedient  to 
all  his  instructions) — to  the  effect  that  Abraham  person- 
ally, in  common  with  this  innumerable  seed,  should  have 
an  everlasting  inheritance  in  the  land  of  the  new  earth. 
Abraham  died  in  this  faith  and  hope,  looking  to  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead  at  the  end  of  this  world  through  which 
to  be  brought  into  the  possession. 

A  condensed  history  of  the  engagement  is  as  follows : 
''And  the  Lord  brought  Abraham  forth  abroad,  and  said, 
Look  now  toward  heaven,  and  tell  the  stars,  if  thou  be 
able  to  number  them  :  so  shall  thy  seed  be.    And  he  be- 


174      CONFLICT   OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

lieved  in  the  Lord  ;  and  he  counted  it  to  him  for  right- 
eousness." (Gen.  15  :  5,  6.)  Abraham  did  right  in  behev- 
ing  the  promise  of  his  Creator,  and  it  j^leased  his  Lord ; 
and  he  counted,  or  imputed,  it  to  him  for  righteousness. 
Paul  discusses  the  revelation  thus:  '*  For  the  promise, 
that  Abraham  should  be  heir  of  the  world,  was  not  to  him, 
or  to  his  seed,  through  the  law,  but  through  the  righteous- 
ness of  faith  ;  therefore  it  is  by  faith,  that  it  might  be  by 
grace;  and  grace  is  the  gift  of  God."  Had  the  in- 
heritance been  promised  upon  the  condition  of  obe- 
dience to  the  law,  or  those  of  the  Mosaic  code  which 
constituted  the  Jewish  national  government,  Judaism, 
which  proud  men  as  well  as  the  humble  might  perform, 
then  could  they  have  demanded  equally  with  Abraham 
heirship  to  the  inheritance  of  the  coming  new  world. 
Men  like  IngersoU,  proud,  self-willed,  and  defiant,  could 
walk  into  the  kingdom  of  God  and  take  legal  possession. 
But  grace  changes  all  this,  and  says  to  the  proud.  You 
have  nothing  I  want  but  your  hearts,  and  these  I  can- 
not receive  so  long  as  they  are  proud  !  It  is  this  that 
makes  the  estrangement  between  God  and  man.  The 
great  Proprietor  says  to  his  creatures,  "  Study  my  re- 
vealed propositions  until  you  see  and  feel  the  reasonable- 
ness of  them,  and  that  you  cannot  change  or  overthrow 
my  purposes,  or  subdue  my  will.  This  will  humble  you, 
if  anything,  and  will  be  evidence  of  your  faith  in  my  ve- 
racity. Now  in  your  humility  come  to  me,  and  I  will 
accept  you  and  in  due  time  exalt  you  to  be  my  sons  and 
daughters,  the  immortal  subjects  of  my  kingdom,  my 
new  coming  world."  ''  He  that  exalteth  himself  shall  be 
abased  ;  but  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted." 
*'  The  proud  he  knoweth  afar  off,  but  giveth  grace  to  the 
humble."  Paul  continues  the  argument  thus  :  ''To  the 
end  that  the  i)romise  might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed  :  not 
to  that  only  which  is  of  the  law,  but  to  that  which  is  of 
the  faith  of  Abraham,  who  is  the  fother  of  us  all.  As  it 
is  written,  I  have  made  thee  a  father  of  many  nations  be- 
fore God,  who  quickeneth  the  dead,  and  calleth  those 
things  which  be  not,  as  though  they  were  [for  God  uses 
the  present  for  the  future  tense  when  speaking  of  things 


WHAT   IS   A   MIRACLE?  I75 

of  prophetic  prediction  which  are  to  take  place  in  the 
future].  He  staggered  not  at  the  promise  of  God 
through  unbeUef ;  but  was  strong  in  faith,  giving  glory- 
to  God  [it  was  honoring,  glorifying  God,  by  believing 
he  would  keep  his  word  of  promise]  and  being  fully  per- 
suaded he  was  able  to  perform,  therefore,  his  faith  was 
imputed  to  him  for  righteousness.  Now  it  was  not  written 
for  his  [Abraham's]  sake  alone,  that  it  was  imputed  to 
him ;  but  for  us  also,  to  whom  it  shall  be  imputed,  if  we 
believe  on  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  our  Lord  from  the 
dead."  (Rom.  4:  13-25.)  "Know  ye  therefore  that 
they  which  are  of  faith,  the  same  are  the  children  of 
Abraham  :  for  ye  are  all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus,  there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  bond  nor 
free,  male  nor  female  :  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus, 
and  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and 
heirs  according  to  the  promise."     (Gal.  4  :  26-29.) 

"And  the  Scripture,  foreseeing  that  God  would  justify 
the  heathen  [Gentile]  through  faith,  preached  the  gospel 
unto  Abraham,  saying,  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed. 
[Here  was  the  gospel  preached,  and  by  God  himself, 
which  was  the  glad  tidings  of  the  possession  of  the  im- 
mortal kingdom  beyond  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 
was  in  about  the  two  thousandth  year  of  the  world,  and 
six  hundred  years  before  the  Jewish  nation  had  an  exist- 
ence, and  we  see  that  it  was  the  same  gospel  re-preached 
by  Paul.]  So  then  they  which  be  of  faith  are  blessed  with 
faithful  Abraham.  And  this  I  say,  that  the  covenant  [this 
new  covenant,  the  promise  of  which  was  made  to  Abra- 
ham], confirmed  before  of  God  in  Christ  [here  also  it  is 
or  was  the  gospel  of  Christ  thus  preached  to  Abraham],  the 
law  [which  was  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  after]  cannot 
disannul,  that  it  should  make  the  promise  of  God  of  none 
effect ;  for  if  the  inheritance  be  of  the  law  [the  Jewish 
national  law],  it  is  no  more  of  promise  ;  but  God  gave  it 
to  Abraham  by  promise."  [If  it  had  been  given  to  Abra- 
ham while  living,  faith  would  have  been  impossible ; 
the  fulfilment  would  destroy  the  promise.]  (Gal.  3.) 
But  what  saith  it?  "The  word  is  nigh  thee,  even,  in 
thy  mouth  and  in  thy  heart :  that  is,  the  word  of  faith, 


176      CONFLICT   OP^   THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

which  we  i^reach  :  that  if  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy 
mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in  thy  heart  that 
God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  served: 
for  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness  ;  and 
with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation.  "(Rom. 
10  :  2-8.)  Here  is  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  and  there  is  but 
one  :  ''  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and 
Father  of  all."  (Eph.  4:6.)  Therefore,  no  more  two  or 
more  faiths  than  there  are  two  Lords,  two  Gods,  or  two 
Fathers,  etc.  This  is  the  faith  of  all  ages.  Abel  had  it, 
and  by  which  he  pleased  God  and  was  righteous,  to 
which  God  himself  testified ;  and  without  faith  it  is  im- 
possible to  please  him.  It  is  the  faith  of  all  ages,  the 
faith  of  the  gospel  revealed  to  the  saints  at  the  very 
foundation  of  the  world.  Of  the  faith  it  is  also  written  : 
"  Beloved,  I  write  unto  you  of  the  common  salvation,  and 
exhort  you  that  ye  should  earnestly  contend  for  the  faith, 
which  was  once  delivered  unto  the  saints."  (Jude  3.) 
Here  are  the  Christians  exhorted,  not  to  adopt  a  new 
faith,  but  to  contend  for  that  of  the  earliest  saints ;  and  it 
was  the  faith  of  the  gospel  which  God  himself  preached 
to  Abel  and  Abraham. 

It  is  clear  from  this  record  that  belief — faith — is  not 
simply  an  intellectual  process,  or  an  indifferent  assent  of 
the  mind  to  these  promises  of  God ;  but  a  heartfelt 
desire  for  their  fulfilment — the  possession  of  the  eternal 
inheritance  to  which  the  faithful  of  all  ages  had  been 
heirs,  and  who  looked  to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead 
through  which  to  come  into  it.  Of  the  father  of  the 
faithful  we  read:  ''By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was 
called  to  go  out  into  a  place  which  he  should  after  re- 
ceive for  an  inheritance,  obeyed  ;  and  he  went  out,  not 
knowing  whither  he  went.  By  faith  he  sojourned  in  the 
land  of  promise  [not  of  possession,  for  that  was  the  new 
world],  as  in  a  strange  country,  dwelling  in  tabernacles 
with  Isaac  and  Jacob  [son  and  grandson],  heirs  with 
him  to  the  same  i)romise :  for  he  looked  for  a  city  which 
hath  foundations,  whose  Imilder  and  maker  is  God 
[the  new  Jerusalem  city,  with  its  twelve  foundations — 
twelve  stories — mansions — a  foundation  to  each,  which  is 


WHAT   IS   A   MIRACLE?  I// 

to  be  the  capital  city  of  the  antitypic  land  of  the  new 
heaven  and  the  new  earth — the  heavenly  country — the 
world  to  come,  lying  beyond  the  resurrection].  These  all 
died  in  faith,  not  having  received  the  [the  possession  of 
the  things  embraced  in  the]  promises  ;  but  having  seen 
them  afar  off  [at  the  end  of  the  world],  and  were  per- 
suaded of  them  [persuaded  that  God  would  keep  his 
word ;  they  therefore,  while  living,  received  the  salvation 
and  inheritance  by  faitli],  and  embraced  them  [I  loved 
them],  and  confessed  that  they  were  strangers  and  pilgrims 
on  the  earth :  for  they  that  say  such  things  declare 
plainly  that  they  seek  a  country.  And  truly,  if  they  had 
been  mindful  of  the  country  from  whence  they  came  out, 
they  might  have  had  opportunity  to  have  returned ;  but 
they  desired  a  better  country,  that  is,  an  heavenly  [the 
country  of  the  new  heaven  and  new  earth].  Wherefore 
God  is  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God :  for  he  hath 
prepared  for  them  a  city."  ["  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for 
you  ;  and  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come 
again  and  receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where  I  am,  there 
ye  may  be  also. ' '  (John  14.)]  The  account  goes  on  to  tell 
how  this  whole  household  of  faith  had  suffered  the  loss  of 
all  things,  rather  than  forfeit  the  heirship  to  the  promised 
inheritance.  They  were  subjected  to  every  form  of 
torture,  not  accepting  deliverance  upon  the  condition  of 
abandoning  their  faith ;  and  the  reason  is  added,  ''that 
they  might  obtain  a  better  resurrection" — not  that  to 
shame  and  everlasting  contempt. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OBEDIENT    WORKS    ESSENTIAL    TO    SALVATION. 

Faith  and  works  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  each 
Other,  and  to  salvation,  as  lungs  and  air  to  vitahty,  or  as 
trees,  moisture,  and  sunlight  to  fruit.  The  good  tree  is 
the  heart  acting  with  motives  to  please  its  Creator,  and 
which  becomes  thus  pure  by  believing  the  words  of 
promise  revealed  in  the  Scriptures.  He  loves  the  God 
who  first  loved  him,  and  the  faith  and  love  is  made 
known  to  others  by  the  sacrifices  and  obedience  of  his 
life.  Christ  said,  "First  make  the  tree  good,  and  the 
fruit  w^ill  be  good :  for  a  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth 
corrupt  fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good 
fruit ;  wherefore  by  their  fruits  shall  ye  know  them."  The 
subject  is  clearly  presented  by  the  apostle  James  thus  : 
"Without  works  faith  is  dead,  being  alone:  show  me 
thy  faith  without  thy  works,  and  I  will  show  you  my  faith 
by  my  works."  "Was  not  Abraham  our  father  justified 
by  works,  when  he  offered  Isaac  his  son  upon  the  altar  ? 
Seest  thou  how  faith  wrought  with  his  works,  and  by 
works  faith  was  made  perfect  ?  "  That  faith  in  the  promise 
and  power  of  God  to  raise  the  dead  was  the  ground  of 
Abraham's  faith,  is  shown  thus:  "By  faith  Abraham, 
when  he  was  tried,  offered  up  Isaac :  and  he  that  Jiad 
received  the  promises  offered  up  his  only  son,  of  whom  it 
was  said.  In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called  :  accounting 
that  God  was  able  tq  raise  him  uj),  even  from  the  dead." 
(Heb.  II  :  17-19.)  "What  doth  it  profit,  my  beloved 
brethren,  though  a  man  may  say  he  hath  faith,  and  hath 
not  works  ?  Can  faith  save  him  ?  If  a  brother  or  sister  be 
naked,  and  destitute  of  daily  food,  and  one  of  you  say 
unto   them,  Dei)art   in  j^eace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled  ; 


WORKS   ESSENTIAL  TO   SALVATION.  1 79 

notwithstanding  ye  give  them  not  those  things  which 
are  needful  to  the  body  ;  what  doth  it  profit  ?  Even  so 
faith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  is  dead,  being  alone. 

' '  Thou  believest  there  is  one  God  ;  thou  doest  well ; 
the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble.  [Such  devils  are  not 
on  Ingersoll's  side,  as  he  claims  all  devils  to  be :  they 
are  not  so  low  in  the  intellectual  scale  as  not  to  know 
there  is  a  God,  nor  in  the  moral  scale  as  to  oppose  his 
purposes  and  anticipate  the  consequences.]  But  wilt 
thou  know,  O  vain  man,  that  faith  without  works  is 
dead?  [Here  the  fundamental  principle  is  that  a  man 
must  be  in  a  condition  of  heart  which  will  lead  him  to 
please  God ;  and  in  the  very  nature  of  things  he  made 
man  for  this  purpose,  as  it  was  impossible  he  should  have 
been  made  either  incapable  of  doing  that  which  would 
have  pleased  him,  or  that  God  was  indifferent  as  to 
whether  his  creature  pleased  or  displeased  him ;  or  more 
impossible  still  that  he  made  him  on  purpose  to  displease 
him ;  and  if  he  made  man  capable  of  being  and  doing 
that  which  pleased  him,  he  must  have  been  capable  of 
being  and  doing  that  which  displeased  him — the  one 
carries  with  it  the  other.  But  to  please  God,  a  man 
must  believe  that  he  is — he  exists — as  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  make  the  least  effort  to  please  that  which  had 
no  existence.  In  order  to  do  this  it  is  also  essential,  as 
it  requires  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  man,  to  expect  recom- 
pense for  the  service:  ''That  he  [God]  is  the  rewarder 
of  them  that  diligently  seek  him."  And  this  is  founded 
upon  the  belief  of  God's  unimpeachable  veracity.  (Heb. 
II  :  6.) 

It  is  evident  that  the  argument  presents  the  condition 
of  mind  and  heart  so  acquainted  with  the  nature,  dispo- 
sition, and  promises  of  God  as  revealed  in  the  Bible,  that 
it  implicitly  relies  upon  their  personal  fulfilment.  This 
is  what  the  Scriptures  teach  of  the  nature  of  revealed 
faith,  and  the  crowning  importance  of  the  requisition  : 
''  Have  faith  in  God.  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to 
please  Him. ' '  The  last  sentence  of  the  passage  shows  God 
is  both  just  and  good,  neither  of  which  do  or  can  athe- 
ists believe ;    and  modern  atheism,  in  order  more  effect- 


l80      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

ually  to  deceive,  takes  on  the  new  form  of  expression 
in  its  rejection  of  the  existence  of  God,  and  says:  "It 
believes  there  is  a  God  ;  but  he  is  not  a  personal  God." 
And  then,  for  fear  these  atheists  should  be  asked  to  define 
what  they  mean  by  "an  impersonal  God,"  reply,  "we 
have  the  idea,  but  cannot  explain  it,"  a  virtual  acknowl- 
edgment of  having  a  conception,  an  image,  of  a  thing  in 
the  mind  of  which  they  are  too  ignorant  of  words,  the 
signs  of  ideas,  to  describe  it,  or  that  paradoxically  they 
have  an  idea  of  which  they  have  no  idea.  In  this  revela- 
tion we  see  that  the  devils  have  such  faith  in  the  exist- 
ence of  a  personal  God  that  they  tremble  with  apprehen- 
sion for  being  devils,  for  which  reason  it  is  more  sensible 
that  they  should  expect  favors  from  the  hand  of  God, 
than  that  these  impersonal-God  idealists  without  ideas 
should  thus  hope.  If,  therefore,  they  continue  in  such  a 
frame  of  mind,  they  make  their  destruction  a  philosophic 
necessity,  as  a  coming  universal  peace  is  declared  between 
God  and  all  living  creatures ;  and  as  they  cannot  destroy 
him,  they  must  suffer  this  themselves.  This  destiny  in- 
cludes the  father-devil  and  all  his  children,  "  children  of 
the  wicked  one."  Hence  it  is  written  :  "  For  this  purpose 
was  the  Son  of  God  manifested,  that  he  might  destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil."  (i  John  3:  8.)  "Forasmuch, 
then,  as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he 
also  himself  likewise  took  part  of  the  same  ;  that  through 
death  [himself  passing  through  death ;  for  had  he  re- 
mained dead,  he  could  neither  have  saved  his  friends  nor 
destroyed  his  enemies,  as  a  dead  being  can  do  nothing] 
he  might  destroy  him  who  had  the  power  of  death,  that 
is,  the  devil,  and  deliver  them  who  through  fear  of  death 
were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage."  (Heb.  2  : 
14,  15.)  As,  therefore,  Christ  himself  was  raised  from 
the  dead,  he  is  able  to  deliver,  redeem,  all  his  chil- 
dren from  the  power  of  the  grave,  and  introduce  them 
simultaneously  into  his  new-made  world  ;  all  being  im- 
mortal, death  had  lost  its  dominion  :  "  and  there  was  no 
death." 


WORKS   ESSENTIAL  TO   SALVATION.  l8l 


Human  Transactions  Illustrate  Faith. 

The  nature  and  work  of  faith  is  shown  by  the  prosecu- 
tion of  all  human  transactions.  To  illustrate  :  Here  is  a 
man  who  has  forfeited  his  property,  which  has  been  sold 
under  foreclosure  \  but  he  has  a  year  of  grace  in  which 
to  redeem  it.  Just  after  the  sale,  another,  knowing  of  the 
transaction  and  desiring  to  win  the  man's  love,  sends  a 
messenger  to  offer  him  the  money  to  meet  the  claim,  but 
will  not  give  it  until  the  day  before  the  year  of  redemp- 
tion expires.  Until  the  day  comes,  he  to  whom  the 
promise  was  made  receives  the  money  by  faith — he  be- 
lieved the  word  of  the  friend  who  had  made  the  prom- 
ise ;  but  the  moment  it  was  fulfilled,  the  faith  was  super- 
seded by  the  knowledge  of  the  fact,  and  ended.  Suppose 
the  proposition  was  not  to  loan  the  money,  but  that  it 
was  to  be  an  absolute  gift,  compensation  being  out  of  the 
question.  To  this  he  who  had  forfeited  the  property  ob- 
jects, and  informs  his  friend  that  he  does  not  wish  to  be 
considered  a  helpless  beggar.  Well,  says  the  friend,  are 
you  not  such  ?  If  not,  and  are  able  to  help  yourself,  why 
do  you  apply  to  me  or  to  anyone  else  ?  Or  why  do  you 
appear  to  be  what  you  are  not  ?  Why  do  you  pretend  to 
have  ability  which  you  have  not  ?  This  is  both  pride 
and  hypocrisy  of  heart,  and  is  the  very  object  for  which 
I  make  the  proposition  in  this  manner,  that  you  may 
frankly  and  honestly  acknowledge  your  true  and  help- 
less condition,  thereby  to  humble  you  and  honor  me. 
Thousands  in  the  same  condition  have  applied  to  me,  and 
with  each  have  I  had  the  same  controversy.  Some 
have  yielded  to  my  will  and  have  received  my  bounty. 
Others  held  on  to  their  self-will,  pride,  and  hypocrisy ; 
but  all  suffered  the  consequence  of  losing  their  property. 
This  presentation  of  the  case  had  the  effect  of  humbling 
the  applicant,  and  he  waited  patiently  in-  faith  and  hope 
for  the  day  of  redemption.  He  reflected  upon  those  who 
had  refused  the  gracious  offer  of  this  friend  upon  whom 
the  day  of  redemption  expired,  and  who  had  lived  only 
to  reflect  upon  themselves,  that  they  had  but  one  friend 


1 82      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

who  was  able  and  willing  to  have  saved  them  from  the 
loss  ;  but  him  they  rejected,  and  from  which  they  could 
never  recover.  All  these  now  see  that  it  would  have 
ennobled  themselves  by  publishing  the  praise  of  so  kind, 
good,  just,  and  merciful  a  friend,  that  others  similarly 
circumstanced  might  also  apply  to  him  and  receive  his 
gracious  bounties.  Let  us  suppose,  still  further,  that  it 
was  his  life  the  man  had  forfeited  by  the  crime  of  treason 
against  the  state,  for  which  he  had  been  tried,  found 
guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be  executed  on  a  certain  day, 
and  that  it  was  the  law  in  that  country  that  one  might 
sacrifice  his  life  to  save  that  of  another,  and  that  in  this 
case,  owing  to  the  greatness  of  the  crime,  the  court  had 
decreed  that  none  but  the  life  of  a  prince  could  be  ac- 
cepted in  his  stead — that  if  the  king's  son  did  not  love 
the  man  so  as  to  die  for  him,  the  culprit  must  suffer  the 
penalty  himself. 

The  king  heard  of  it,  and  reasoned  thus :  This  man 
is  proud,  self-willed,  and  wdckedly  aml^itious,  heading  a 
seditious  conspiracy  to  overthrow  my  authority  and  usurp 
my  place;  but  instead  of  letting  him  die,  I  will  die  for 
him,  in  order  to  win  him  to  be  a  loyal  subject  of  my 
universal  government  which  I  have  undertaken  to  estab- 
lish, in  which  to  love  and  obey  me  forever ;  indeed,  so 
pa.ssionate  will  be  his  devotion  that,  if  called  to  it,  he 
will  even  lay  down  his  life  in  defence  of  my  honor.  I 
know  that  if  I  could  show  him,  and  all  others  who  hear 
of  it,  the  full  measure  of  my  love,  but  which  can  only  be 
done  by  making  the  greatest  sacrifice  of  which  I  am 
capable,  which  is  the  life  of  my  only  begotten  son — in- 
deed, myself,  embodied  in  human  form.  This  is  the  de- 
mand, and  the  royal  sacrifice  shall  be  made.  ^'  Peradvent- 
ure,  for  a  good  man,  some  would  even  dare  to  die." 
*' Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friend."  (John  15:  13.)  "But 
God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us  in  that,  while  we 
were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us."  (Rom.  5  :  7,  8.) 
"  Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of  God,  because  he 
laid  down  his  life  for  us ;  and  we  ought  to  lay  down  our 
lives  for  the  brethren."     (i  John  3  :  16.)    Before  the  day 


WORKS   ESSENTIAL   TO   SALVATION.  1 83 

arrived  for  the  execution  of  the  condemned  criminal,  the 
king-father  gave  the  Hfe  of  his  only  son  to  ransom  the 
hfe  of  his  rebellious  enemy.  The  son,  the  prince,  died, 
but  the  culprit  lived,  and,  overwhelmed  by  the  boundless 
love  of  the  king  and  father,  his  pride  gave  way,  and  his 
self-will  gave  place  to  the  deepest  contrition  and  humilia- 
tion for  ever  having  done  an  act  displeasing  to  so  good, 
loving,  and  gracious  a  friend ;  and  from  thenceforth  he 
would  have  laid  down  his  life  rather  than  offend  his 
great  saviour.  "  He  loved  much,  for  he  had  much  for- 
given." The  father  and' son  were  glorified  by  such  an 
act,  and,  becoming  widely  known,  it  drew  around  the 
king  a  class  of  such  loyal,  loving  subjects  as  could  have 
been  gained  in  no  other  conceivable  way.  Here  is  the 
philosophy  of  the  grand  and  glorious  gospel  of  God,  as 
taught  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth.  This  is  the  system  of 
revealed  religion  which  Ingersoll  utterly  misconceives, 
and  against  which  he  wages  an  unnatural  and,  for  him- 
self, a  ruinous  warfare.  "  Let  the  potsherds  strive  with 
the  potsherds  of  the  earth ;  but  woe  unto  him  that 
striveth  with  his  Maker  !  "     (Isa.  45  :   9.) 

Two  Resurrections  to  Fit  Men  for  the  Kingdom. 

The  great  change  through  which  a  man  must  pass,  in 
order  to  enjoy  the  association  of  his  Maker,  requires  two 
resurrections.  The  first  comes  by  so  believing  the  gospel 
that  it  produces  penitence,  humiliation,  and  godly  obedi- 
ence ;  and  the  second,  that  to  immortality  at  the  last  day  ; 
he  is  then  a  fit  subject  for  the  kingdom  of  God  to  be 
established  in  the  new-made  world.  The  fulfilment  of 
all  the  promises  relating  to  this  reward  is  salvation.  It 
is  salvation,  because  it  places  its  recipients  forever  be- 
yond the  liability  of  possible  want  or  harm.  They  have 
obtained  that  world  in  which  they  cannot  die  ;  and  with 
whom  God  himself,  in  personal  Immanuelization,  for- 
ever dwells,  just  as  they  do  with  each  other.  That  he  is 
the  destined  re-creator  is  the  doctrine  of  Moses  and  the 
Prophets,  and  from  whom  it  was  revealed  to  John  thus: 
*'  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven,  saying.  Be- 


1 84      CONFLICT   UF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

hold  !  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will 
dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God 
himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God.  And 
God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying, 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain ;  for  the  former 
things  are  passed  away.  And  he  that  sat  upon  the 
throne  said,  Behold  !  /  make  all  things  new.  And  he 
said  unto  me.  It  is  done.  Write  ;  for  these  words  are 
true  and  faithful.  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega ;  the  begin- 
ning and  the  end ;  which  was  dead  and  am  alive  again 
forever  more.  I  will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of 
the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely.  He  that  over- 
cometh  shall  inherit  all  things ;  and  I  will  be  his  God, 
and  he  shall  be  my  son,  but  the  fearful,  and  unbelieving, 
and  the  abominable,  and  murderers,  and  whoremongers, 
and  sorcerers,  and  idolaters,  and  all  liars,  shall  have  their 
part  in  the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone ; 
this  is  the  second  death."  (Rev.  21  :  3-8.)  Here  are 
the  inhabitants  of  the  new  heaven  and  new  earth,  con- 
stituting a  world — ^'the  world  to  come,  world  without 
end" — all  dwelling  in  perfect  and  endless  safety;  they 
are  now  saved.  This  is  salvation,  and  until  it  is  thus 
possessed  its  inheritors  and  heirs  are  saved  by  faith,  be- 
lieving they  will  then  be  saved. 

Salvation  Completed  at  the  End  of  this  Wo?id. 

It  is  obvious  that  until  the  saints  are  actually  thus 
saved,  they  are  only  saved  by  faith,  and  it  is  a  contradic- 
tion in  terms  to  say  a  man  is  actually  saved — actually 
safe — while  he  is  liable  to  suffer  the  first  or  second  death, 
of  the  first  of  which  it  is  written:  ''Who  shall  deliver 
them  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  life  subject 
to  bondage,"  and  from  which  the  resurrection  to  im- 
mortality alone  exempts.  It  is  also  declared,  ''We  are 
saved  by  hope,"  that  is,  we  hope  to  be  saved  when  the 
salvation  comes,  and,  when  bestowed,  necessarily  super- 
sedes the  possibility  of  faith,  faith  and  possession  being 
incompatible  with  each  other:    "Receiving  the  end  of 


WORKS   ESSENTIAL   TO   SALVATION.  1 85 

your  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  your  souls  "  [yourselves], 
(i  Pet.  1:9-)  It  is  also  called  being  saved  by  grace 
through  faith :  the  grace,  the  salvation,  being  the  gift  of 
God.  The  man  who  had  forfeited  his  estate,  and  life, 
had  nothing  wherewith  to  pay,  and  as  both  were  restored 
to  him,  it  must  have  been  by  grace,  gift,  favor,  which 
terms  mean  the  same  in  Scripture.  The  spirit  of  the  grace 
— the  reflex  power  of  the  anticipation  of  such  reward, 
such  triumph — commences  in  this  life,  by  the  resurrection 
of  the  heart,  the  religious  nature,  from  a  state  of  indiffer- 
ence or  hatred  to  one  of  absorbing  interest  and  love  for 
its  Maker ;  but  the  salvation  is  the  substance  of  all  the 
gracious  promises  God  has  given  to  his  people,  and  to  be 
awarded  "at  the  resurrection  of  the  just."  Peter  sums 
up  the  argument  thus  :  ' '  Blessed  be  the  God  and  father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which,  according  to  his  abun- 
dant mercy,  hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a  lively  hope  [a 
hope  of  eternal  life]  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead,  to  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  unde- 
filed,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for 
you  [the  new  heaven]  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God 
through  faith  unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the 
last  time  [the  salvation  thus  to  be  revealed  is  wholly  in- 
consistent with  the  idea  of  its  possession  prior  to  that 
time]  :  whom  having  not  seen,  ye  love  ;  in  whom,  though 
now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory  [if  the  anticipation  of  the 
inheritance,  the  salvation,  gives  such  joy,  what  will  be  that 
of  its  possession  !  but  here,  when  faith  ends  salvation 
begins].  Wherefore  gird  up  the  loins  of  your  mind,  be 
sober,  and  hope  to  the  end  for  the  grace  [gift  of  salva- 
tion] that  is  to  be  brought  unto  us  at  the  revelation  of 
Jesus  Christ."      (i  Pet.  i.) 

In  this  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ's  coming,  he  said  to 
John:  ''  Behold  !  I  come  quickly ;  and  my  reward  is  with 
me,  to  give  every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be." 
And  to  which  the  apostle  responded:  ''Even  so,  come 
Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly!"  (Rev.  22.)  Here  is  the 
salvation  promised  the  saints  of  all  ages,  for  having  hon- 
ored the  word  of  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory.     But  when 


1 86      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

he  comes  thus,  it  is  to  judge  the  world  in  righteousness,  in 
view  of  which  Isaiah  says  :  "  Behold  !  the  Lord  God  will 
come  with  strong  hand,  and  his  arm  shall  rule  for  him. 
Behold  I  his  reward  is  with  him  and  his  work  before 
him."  (Isa.  40  :  10.)  Here  also  the  doom  of  those  will 
be  executed  whose  filthy  lies  and  unholy  rant  ends  in  de- 
struction. How  will  the  scoffer  appear  then  in  ''stand- 
ing up  like  a  man,"  as  IngersoU  says  he  is  going  to  do? 
It  is  doubtful  whether  an  angel-devil  among  the  arraigned 
could  be  induced  to  stand  by  his  side.  Hear  him : 
''  Faith  is  the  infamy  of  infamies,  and  too  absurd  for  refu- 
tation. What  man  who  ever  thinks  can  believe  that 
blood  can  appease  God?  and  yet  our  entire  system  of 
religion  is  based  upon  that  belief."  No,  Mr.  Scoffer! 
this  is  another  of  the  low,  blasphemous  misrepresentations 
of  which  any  man  who  has  a  respectable  thought  would 
be  ashamed.  The  religion  taught  in  the  Bible  has  its 
procuring  cause  in  the  love  of  God  for  man,  and  his  in- 
carnate death,  involving  the  shedding  of  his  blood,  the 
sacrificial  means  to  make  it  manifest  to  sinners,  solely  for 
the  purpose  of  winning  their  love  for  himself  in  turn  : 
''Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself:  on  these  two  command- 
ments hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets."  In  view  of 
these  revealed  facts,  what  but  a  mixture  of  ignorance, 
hate,  and  madness,  could  make  such  a  charge  ? 

Again  the  scoffer  says:  "It  is  hard  to  conceive  how 
the  human  mind  can  give  assent  to  such  terrible  ideas,  or 
how  any  sane  man  can  read  the  Bible  and  still  believe  in 
the  doctrine  of  inspiration."  In  reply  we  may  say,  it  is 
hard  to  conceive  how  any  sane  man  could  ever  have  read 
the  Bible  and  remained  so  profoundly  ignorant  of  the 
doctrines  therein  taught,  or  still  to  suppose  them  terrible, 
excei)t  to  such  sinners  as  he.  Thus  far  we  have  not 
found  any  of  his  ideas  taught  in  the  Bible;  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  conceive  how  a  man  who  has  the  least  respect 
for  himself  or  for  public  opinion,  who  can  put  such  lies 
and  absurdities  in  the  Bible  as  the  teaching  of  inspiration 
or  revelation.  Hear  the  lawyer  and  statesman  again  : 
*' Whether  the  Bible  is  true  or  false,  is  of  no  consequence 


WORKS    ESSENTIAL   TO   SALVATION.  1 8/ 

in  comparison  with  the  mental  freedom  of  the  race. ' '  The 
doctrine  upon  the  question  is  that  of  obedience  to  law, 
whether  civil  or  moral,  as  the  basis  of  mental  freedom,  and 
everyone  but  Ingersoll  knows  that  a  man  cannot  lose  his 
liberty  but  by  violating  the  obligations  law  imposes.  He 
says,  ''  Salvation  through  slavery  is  worthless."  This  is 
also  a  shallow  untruth,  for  a  man  may  submit  to  the 
most  degrading  form  of  slavery  for  a  time  in  order  to 
obtain  a  greater  liberty ;  and  in  order  to  obtain  endless 
liberty  he  may  submit  not  only  to  suffer  the  loss  of  liber- 
ty, but  incur  the  severest  imprisonment  during  his  whole 
human  life,  even  the  loss  of  life  itself,  in  order  to  obtain 
eternal  liberty,  ''the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of 
God  in  the  world  to  come,"  and  millions  have  suffered 
the  loss  of  all  things  in  the  temporary  world  to  make  sure 
their  salvation  in  the  eternal. 

He  says,  "Salvation  from  slavery  is  inestimable."  A 
man  is  a  slave  to  the  laws  of  his  country  when  he  violates 
their  provisions,  and  he  is  the  slave  of  sin  when  he  has 
violated  the  laws  of  his  Maker.  The  only  freedom  from 
either  is  by  being  pardoned  by  those  against  whom  the 
crime  was  committed,  or  of  suffering  the  penalty.  But  as 
Ingersoll  don't  believe  in  pardon,  reconciliation,  or  atone- 
ment, which  mean  the  same  in  Scripture,  his  slavery  must 
remain ;  and  however  inestimable  eternal  liberty  may  be, 
it  is  unavailable  for  him,  except  upon  the  condition  that 
he  gives  up  his  fight  against  his  Maker ;  and  we  have  no 
hope  that  he  will  do  this.  He  is  in  the  state  of  mind  of  a 
man  who  has  told  a  lie  so  often  that  he  believes  it  himself; 
he  has  repeated  these  studied  lies  so  often  and  long  about 
God  and  the  Bible,  that  he  believes  them  to  be  facts. 
The  effect  of  receding  from  sunlight  is  to  be  involved  in 
darkness,  and  to  recede  from  the  light  of  God's  inspira- 
tion and  revelation  is  to  grope  in  mental  and  moral  dark- 
ness. Christ  says,  "  If  the  light  in  you  becomes  darkness, 
how  great  is  that  darkness  !  "  "  For  this  cause  God  shall 
send  them  strong  delusions,  that  they  may  believe  a  lie ; 
that  they  all  might  be  damned,  because  they  believe  not 
the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness."  In  the 
same  line  he  also  says,  "  As  long  as  a  man  believes  the 


1 88      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Bible  to  be  infallible,  that  book  is  his  master.  If  a  man 
believes  the  Bible  to  be  infallible,  he  must  believe  an  in- 
fallible being  is  its  author,  as  a  fallible  being  cannot  write 
or  dictate  to  be  written  an  infallible  book."  Whether 
the  Bible  is  a  fallible  or  infallible  book  in  nowise  depends 
upon  whether  any  man  or  all  men  believe  or  disbelieve  it 
such,  but  wholly  and  absolutely  upon  its  merits,  or  the 
evidence  it  contains  of  such  an  authenticity.  If  the  Bible 
is  infallible,  having  the  Creator  as  its  author,  it  is  Inger- 
soU's  master  whether  he  believes  it  or  not ;  and  whether 
he  believes  in  the  existence  of  an  infallible  being  or  not, 
still  God  is  his  Maker  and  Master  just  the  same.  But  it  is 
not  his  master,  nor  is  he  its  slave  until  he  violates  its  com- 
mands and  refuses  to  repent  and  obtain  pardon ;  these 
acts  master  and  enslave  him,  just  as  though  he  had  vio- 
lated the  laws  of  his  country,  and  there  was  power  enough 
in  the  state  to  execute  the  penalty  ;  they  are  his  master 
and  he  is  their  slave.  What  a  foolish  idea  that  if  he  don't 
believe  in  the  state  or  its  laws,  he  is  then  a  free  man; 
and  if  he  can  succeed  in  inducing  everybody  to  disbe- 
lieve the  laws  or  the  book  containing  them,  then  all  will 
enjoy  sweet  mental  and  moral  freedom  ! 

Here  is  one  of  God's  wayward  creatures  who  objects  to 
having  even  God  his  master  ;  he  cannot  endure  such 
slavery,  but  he  would  be  master  of  God  himself.  His 
wrath  cannot  be  appeased  until  he  infuses  his  animus  into 
the  hearts  of  all  others,  and  induces  them  to  follow  his  ex- 
ample in  not  believing  in  God  or  the  Bible  ;  and  that  will 
be  just  the  same  as  though  there  was  no  God,  and  the 
Bible  was  a  fable. 

What  a  conception  of  liberty,  that  cannot  be  contented 
so  long  as  there  is  a  being  in  the  universe  of  superior 
power  to  his  own,  or  as  long  as  others  believe  in  the  ex- 
istence of  such  a  being  !  "I'his  is  the  kind  of  freemen 
atheism  with  its  frectliinkcrism  makes,  but  who  are,  in 
fact,  the  slaves  of  perpetual  anarchy. 


WORKS  ESSENTIAL  TO   SALVATION.  1 89 


We  Cede  One  Claim  to  Ingersoll. 

He  says,  ''  The  civilization  of  this  century  is  not  the 
child  of  faith,  but  of  unbelief — the  result  of  free- 
thought."  In  replying  to  this  claim  we  feel  a  httle  re- 
lief, as  he  does  not  charge  it  upon  the  Bible  ;  for  it  is  a 
civilization  when  fraud  and  corruption  are  so  general  that 
men  have  lost  faith  in  their  fellow-men  for  the  want  of  in- 
tegrity; and  when  oppression  of  moneyed  monopolists 
upon  even  the  bread  and  clothing  of  the  people,  are  pro- 
verbially designated  in  their  corporate  capacity  as  having 
no  souls  ;  and  when  robberies  by  bank-officers  have  be- 
come so  general  that  men  often  prefer  depositing  their 
money  in  secret  places  and  losing  the  interest,  rather  than 
ii}  ordinary  banks ;  and  when  the  party  spending  the 
most  money  and  giving  away  the  greatest  quantity  of  the 
drunkard's  drink  are  the  most  likely  to  have  their  candi- 
dates elected  to  the  offices  of  the  United  States  and  Eng- 
land ;  when  a  large  number  of  the  bills  passing  Congress 
and  the  State  Legislatures  are  known  by  the  title  of  ''  put- 
up  jobs  ;  "  when  the  country  is  filled  with  crime,  many 
of  which  are  of  the  most  unnatural  character  ;  an  almost 
universal  disrespect  for  the  aged  and  superiors,  and  of  par- 
ents by  their  children ;  and,  to  cap  the  climax,  when  In- 
gersoll can  dehver  this  lecture  ''On  the  Gods,"  at  Booth's 
Theatre,  in  New  York  City,  and  thousands  pay  extrava- 
gant prices  for  tickets  and  loudly  applaud  his  blasphe- 
mous scoffs  and  low  slanders  of  God  and  the  Bible,  and 
this,  too,  in  full  view  of  the  historic  fact  that  there  never 
was  any  modern  civilization  where  Christianity  did  not 
prevail.  Yes  !  Mr.  Ingersoll,  you  are  right  for  once — 
the  civilization  of  this  century  is  the  child  of  unbehef, 
and  if  left  to  go  on  without  intelligent  and  satisfactory  ex- 
posure, its  march  must  culminate  in  the  re-enactment  of 
the  French  atheistic  reign  of  terror.  The  highest  con- 
ception of  freethought  (so  called)  is  that  which  rejects  all 
restraint  upon  passion  and  reduces  liberty  to  license, 
known  better  by  the  names — Socialism,  Anarchism,  and 
Nihilism.     A  freethinker  said  to  the  writer,  at  their  con- 


1 90      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

vention  in  Rochester,  New  York,  a  few  years  ago  :  "  We 
have  reduced  the  number  of  capital  crimes  from  thirteen 
in  the  laws  of  Moses,  to  only  two."  In  reply  we  an- 
swered, ''Yes,  and  you  have  increased  the  number  and 
greatness  of  crime  in  the  same  ratio." 


Hozo  the  Propliecies  may  he  Known  to  have  been  Inspired 
by   God. 

''All  that  it  is  necessary,"  says  Ingersoll,  "  as  it  seems 
to  me,  to  convince  any  reasonable  person  that  the  Bible 
is  simply  and  purely  a  human  invention,  of  barbarian  ori- 
gin, is  to  read  it  ;  read  it  as  you  w^ould  any  other  book  ; 
think  of  it  as  you  would  of  any  other ;  get  the  band- 
age of  reverence  from  your  eyes  ;  drive  from  your  heart 
the  phantom  of  fear  ;  push  from  the  throne  of  your  brain 
the  cobweb  of  superstition  ;  then  read  the  Bible,  and  you 
will  be  amazed  that  for  a  moment  you  believed  a  Being 
of  infinite  wisdom,  goodness,  and  purity,  to  be  the  author 
or  such  ignorance  and  atrocity."  What  he  means  to  say 
here  is,  that  if  you  wish  to  understand  what  the  Bible 
teaches,  you  must  read  it  just  as  I  have  done.  Up  to  this 
point  we  have  introduced  and  examined  all  the  passages 
of  Scripture  which  led  Ingersoll  to  say  those  things  just 
quoted  about  the  Bible,  and  we  feel  certain  that  every- 
one who  reads  our  book,  just  as  he  recommends  to  read 
the  Bible,  or  in  such  a  frame  of  mind  and  moral  percep- 
tion as  to  understand  the  ideas,  they  will  be  satisfied  that 
Ingersoll  does  not  deal  honestly  with  a  single  passage, 
and  that  he  does  not  understand  one  doctrine  of  the 
Bible;  and  this  conviction  will  be  increasingly  con- 
firmed as  we  advance  in  exposing  his  ignorance  of  that 
book.  It  is  amazing  that  a  man  thus  ignorant  of  the 
Bible,  should  have  the  audacity  to  lay  down  rules  before 
a  New  York  audience,  by  which  they  should  be  governed 
in  studying  the  Bible  ! — l)ut 

"  Fools  rusli  in  wlicic  angels   fear  to  tread." 

To  understand  the  Scriptures,  is  not  sim]:)ly  to  believe 
that  the  Bein<r  who  made  the  world  is  their  author,  but 


WORKS   ESSENTIAL  TO   SALVATION.  191 

to  know  that  to  be  true,  by  logical  demonstration,  and  to 
believe  because  of  the  evidence  thus  obtained.  To  know  : 
First,  that  their  teachings  are  in  perfect  harmony  with 
themselves.  Second,  that  they  are  in  perfect  harmony 
with  all  the  facts  and  phenomena  of  nature.  Third,  that 
they  contain  the  prehistoric  record,  or  prophetic  history  of 
all  the  prominent  events  of  the  great  nations  of  the  world 
— more  of  which  have  been  fulfilled  in  our  day,  or  since 
the  year  1848,  than  during  any  previous  century — from 
which  it  follows  that  none  but  a  Being  able  to  see  and 
calculate  the  development  of  events  which  he  did  not  wish 
to  come,  but  which  would  occur  in  the  march  of  human 
society  could  thus  write  their  history  in  advance  ;  and  this 
is  the  character  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures,  contained 
in  Moses,  tile  prophets,  and  the  Book  of  Psalms. 

As  IngersoU  is  profoundly  ignorant  of  all  this,  of 
course  he  cannot  conceive  that  anyone  else  knows  what 
he  does  not  know.  Hence  the  worthlessness  of  his  opin- 
ions of  the  Bible. 

God  Challe7tges  Man' s  Reason — Upon  the   Truth  of 
Prophesy  ! 

The  great  fact  by  which  men  may  believe  and  know 
that  the  Scriptures  originated  in  the  mind  of  the  Creator, 
is,  that  the  events  they  predict  come  to  pass.  Their  au- 
thor lays  down  this  as  a  rule  and  test-principle  by  which 
every  man  may  judge  of  the  question  for  himself.  And  if 
he  will  search  the  Scripture-predictions,  and  their  historic 
fulfilment,  as  recorded  by  the  civil  historians  of  the 
world,  some  of  whom  are  skeptics  themselves,  he  will  not 
only  find  evidence  for  belief,  but  a  profound  conviction 
amounting  to  experimental  knowledge  which  leaves  no 
room  for  doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  their  inspiration.  The 
investigation  is  challenged  by  the  use  of  such  unequivocal 
language  as  the  following,  sent  out  to  the  priests  of  idola- 
try and  reasoners — thinkers  of  the  ages.  ' '  Produce  your 
cause,  bring  forth  your  strong  reasons,  saith  the  king  of 
Jacob.  Let  them  show  us  what  shall  happen  :  Let  them 
declare  us  things   to  come  and  show  the  former  things 


192-    CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

what  they  be,  that  we  may  consider,  and  know  the 
latter  end  of  them  ;  that  we  may  know  ye  are  gods ; 
yea  !  do  good,  or  do  evil,  that  we  may  be  dismayed." 
''  Come  and  let  us  reason  together  saith  the  Lord."  "  I 
have  declared  the  end  from  the  beginning ;  and  they 
went  forth  out  of  my  mouth,  and  I  did  them  suddenly, 
and  they  came  to  pass."  (Isa.  49  :  21-23,  and  48  :  3.) 
''And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  whosoever  will  not 
hearken  unto  my  words  which  the  prophet  shall  speak  in 
my  name,  I  will  require  it  of  him.  But  the  prophet, 
which  shall  presume  to  speak  a  word  in  my  name,  which 
I  have  not  commanded  him  to  speak,  or  shall  si)eak  in 
the  name  of  other  gods,  even  that  prophet  shall  die. 
And  if  thou  say  in  thy  heart,  how  shall  we  know  the 
word  which  the  Lord  hath  not  spoken  ?  ' '  [The  answer 
is]  "  When  a  prophet  speaketh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  thing  follow  not  nor  come  to  pass,  that  is  the 
thing  the  Lord  hath  not  spoken,  but  the  prophet  hath 
spoken  it  presumptuously ;  thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  of 
him."  (Deut.  18:  19-22.)  Here  does  the  author  of 
rehgious,  prophetic  Scripture  subject  it  to  the  severest 
test  of  thought  and  reason.  "  I  have  not  spoken  in 
secret,  in  a  dark  place  of  the  earth."  (Isa.  49:  19.) 
That  the  predictions  are  general,  covering  the  events  con- 
nected with  his  Church  in  all  ages  and  nations,  running 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  its  end,  is  thus 
also  shown  :  "  Surely  the  Lord  God  will  do  nothing  ;  but 
he  revealeth  his  secret  unto  his  servants  the  prophets." 
(Amos  3  :  7.) 

All  that  had  come  to  pass  in  former  times  he  had  re- 
vealed before  they  were  done,  and  all  that  will  come  to 
pass,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  and  beyond  covering 
that  of  its  recreation  and  the  establishment  of  universal 
peace  and  righteousness.  All  this  did  he  inspire  his 
prophets  to  predict,  and  their  scribes  to  write ;  therefore 
are  the  writings  Scripture.  Of  course  the  prehistoric 
record  is  so  comjjlete,  that  nothing  of  importance  con- 
nected with  national  and  religious  interests  will  ever 
come  to  i)ass  which  is  not  a  subject  of  ins])ired  revelation. 
The  appeal  is  addressed  to   the  intelligent  of  every  age 


WORKS  ESSENTIAL  TO   SALVATION.  1 93 

or  period,  to  show  by  the  history  of  their  events  or  of  the 
past,  whether  they  have  not  been  written  in  advance  in 
this  great  book  of  God's  inspiration.  Hence,  to  read 
the  Scriptures  according  to  their  own  rules,  therefore, 
understandingly,  by  comparing  the  predictions  and  their 
chronology  of  events  with  the  records  of  profane  history, 
is  not  only  to  believe,  but  to  have  certain  knowledge  of 
God  being  their  author. 

More  of  IngersolV  s  Slander  of  Scriptm-e. 

The  scoffer  says :  ''  One  of  these  gods  is  reported  to 
have  given  the  following  instructions  concerning  human 
slavery  :  '  If  thou  buy  an  Hebrew  servant  six  years  he  shall 
serve ;  but  in  the  seventh  he  shall  go  out  free.  If  he 
came  in  by  himself,  he  shall  go  out  by  himself :  if  he  were 
married,  his  wife  shall  go  out  with  him.  If  his  master 
have  given  him  a  w^ife,  and  she  have  born  him  sons  and 
daughters  :  the  wife  and  her  children  shall  be  her  master's 
and  he  shall  go  out  by  himself.  And  if  the  servant  shall 
plainly  say,  I  love  my  master,  my  wife  and  my  children  ; 
I  will  not  go  out  free  :  then  his  master  shall  bring  him  unto 
the  judges  ;  he  shall  also  bring  him  unto  the  door-post ; 
and  bore  his  ear  through  with  an  awl ;  and  he  shall  serve 
himforever.'  "  (Ex.  21  :  26.)  "  According  to  this,"  says 
Ingersoll,  ''  a  man  was  given  liberty  upon  condition  that 
he  would  desert  forever  his  wife  and  children.  Did  any 
devil  ever  force  upon  a  husband,  and  father,  so  cruel  and 
heartless  an  alternative  ?  Who  can  bend  the  knee  to  such 
a  monster  ?  Who  can  pray  to  such  a  fiend  ?  ' '  Here 
again  we  find  the  blasphemous  scoffer  belching  forth  his 
wilful  ignorance  and  presumption.  In  proof  of  this 
charge,  let  us  examine  the  terms  and  provisions  of  this  law 
of  the  Mosaic  code,  with  its  modifications,  and  as  limited 
by  other  laws  and  statutes. 

In  the  first  place,  this  was  a  Hebrew  servant.  Secondly, 
he  went  in  to  the  employment  of  the  master,  knowing  the 
terms  of  the  service.  Third,  the  wife  his  master  gave 
him,  was  his  own  daughter,  as  he  had  no  power  to  give 
any  other  woman  in  marriage,  and  the  servant  was  his 


194      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

son-in-law,  and  the  children  his  grandchildren.  Fourth, 
he  loved  his  master  and  did  not  want  any  larger  liberty 
or  better  home  than  he  already  enjoyed.  By  this  law  the 
servant  had  a  right  to  demand  of  his  master  that  he  should 
keep  him,  and  this  claim  he  put  in  before  the  judges.  In- 
stead, therefore,  of  its  having  been  slavery  for  the  servant 
to  remain  in  the  employment  of  this  master,  the  law  pro- 
tected him  against  the  power  of  the  landlord  to  send  him 
away,  as  he  might  not  have  been  as  profitable  with  his 
many  children,  to  keep  him,  and  there  never  were  such 
laws  as  in  this  code  for  the  protection  of  the  poor  against 
the  rich.  In  the  last  place  the  term  "forever,"  was  not 
without  end,  as  Ingersoll  understands  it,  but  was  limit- 
ed to  the  coming  of  the  seven  years'  release,  when  this 
Hebrew  servant,  his  wife  and  children,  were  as  free  as  he 
who  had  been  the  master,  and  at  which  time  his  master 
was  not  to  let  him  go  away  poor,  but  was  compelled  by 
the  same  law  to  give  him  liberally  of  everything  he  him- 
self possessed,  so  that  he  should  have  another  fair  start  in 
the  battle  of  life. 


Justice  and  Humanity  of  the  Laws  of  Moses. 

Some  of  the  provisions  of  this  law  are  as  follows  : 
''  And  if  thy  brother  that  dwelleth.by  thee  be  waxen  poor, 
and  be  sold  unto  thee,  thou  shalt  not  compel  him  to  serve 
as  a  bond-servant,  but  as  an  hired  servant,  and  as  a  so- 
journer he  shall  be  with  thee,  and  shall  serve  thee  until 
the  [release]  Jubilee  :  and  then  he  shall  depart,  both  he 
and  his  children  with  him,  and  shall  return  unto  his  own 
family,  and  unto  the  i)Ossession  of  his  fathers,  for  they  are 
my  servants,  which  I  brought  forth  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt  ;  they  shall  not  l)e  sold  as  bond-men.  Thou  shalt 
not  rule  over  them  with  rigor,  but  shall  fear  thy  (rod." 
(Lev.  25  :  39-45.)  "And  if  thy  brother,  an  Hebrew 
man,  or  woman,  be  sold  unto  thee,  and  serve  thee  six 
years ;  then  in  the  seventh  year  thou  shalt  let  him  go  out 
from  thee  free.  And  when  thou  sendest  him  out,  thou 
shalt  not  let  him  go  away  empty,  but  thou  shalt  furnish 
him  liberally  out  of  thy  flock,  and  out  of  thy  floor,  and 


WORKS  ESSENTIAL  TO  SALVATION.  I95 

out  of  thy  wine  press :  of  that  wherewith  the  Lord  thy 
God  hath  blessed  thee  thou  shalt  give  unto  him.  For  the 
poor  shall  never  cease  out  of  the  land  :  therefore  I  com- 
mand thee  saying,  Thou  shalt  open  thy  hand  wide  unto 
thy  brother,  to  thy  poor,  and  to  thy  needy,  in  thy  land." 
(Deut.  15  :  11-14.)  Here  was  so  humane  a  law,  that  it 
enabled  the  poor  to  pay  their  debts  without  oppression. 
The  creditor  was  obliged  to  give  the  debtor  employment 
and  support,  including  his  family,  while  he  was  working 
out  the  debt.  But  if  he  was  unable  within  a  certain 
period  to  discharge  it,  there  was  a  universal  bankrupt 
law  every  fiftieth  year,  and  which  discharged  every  debt 
in  the  nation :  not  like  the  laws  of  our  civilization, 
which  Ingersoll  claims  to  be  the  work  of  unbelief,  which 
permits  one  creditor  to  seize  on  the  property  of  a  debtor 
and  sacrifice  the  whole  of  it  to  get  his  pay,  leaving  the 
debtor  still  in  debt,  and  all  others  unpaid,  who,  with 
his  family,  are  thus  reduced  to  a  state  of  pauperism  or 
starvation. 

Here  is  the  law  which  this  master  scoffer  and  blasphemer 
says  is  too  bad  for  a  devil  to  make,  and  he  who  made  it  is 
a  monster — a  fiend.  Behold  !  what  a  specimen  of  igno- 
rance and  madness  !  But,  lest  Ingersoll  or  any  of  his 
freethinking  clan  of  transformers,  instead  of  reformers, 
should  further  object  that  the  laws  of  the  release  and  of 
the  Jubilee  only  applied  to  Hebrews,  and  that  all  other  na- 
tions might  be  bond-men  and  bond-women  during  life, 
we  proceed  to  show  that  there  are  provisions  in  the 
Mosaic  code  by  which  all  strangers  and  sojourners  might 
become  Hebrew  citizens,  thereby  equal  with  them  before 
the  law,  and  share  all  its  benefits.  These  were  the  keep- 
ing of  the  ''Passover,"  and  the  offering  of  the  "  burnt 
sacrifice,"  which  were  in  our  language  "the  naturaliza- 
tion laws  "  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  "And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses  and  Aaron,  This  is  the  ordinance  of  the  pass- 
over,  there  shall  no  stranger  eat  thereof;  but  every  man's 
servant  that  is  bought  for  money,  when  thou  hast  cir- 
cumcised him,  then  shall  he  eat  thereof.  A  foreigner 
and  a  hired  servant  shall  not  eat  thereof.  And  when  a 
stranger  shall  sojourn  with  thee,  and  will  keep  the  pass- 


196      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

over  to  the  Lord,  let  all  his  males  be  circumcised,  and 
then  let  him  come  near  and  keep  it,  and  he  shall  be  as 
one  born  in  the  land.  One  law  shall  be  for  him  that  is 
home-born,  and  unto  the  stranger  and  sojourner  among 
you."  (Ex.  12  :  43,  49.)  If  it  shall  be  said  it  was  a 
hard  condition,  the  abandonment  of  their  rehgion,  we  an- 
swer that  every  religion  but  that  imposed  by  the  Creator 
is  a  corruption  of  it,  and  this  made  the  demand  of  the 
sacrifice  of  the  false  and  ruinous  corruption  for  the  true 
and  holy  religion  of  the  one  living  and  true  God.  The 
passover  taught  the  Hebrew  nation  to  keep  in  remem- 
brance their  deliverance  from  a  long  and  cruel  bondage, 
and  continually  reminded  them  not  to  subject  others  to 
unjust  servitude. 

''And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  your  children  shall 
say  unto  you,  What  mean  ye  by  this  service  ?  that  ye  shall 
say.  It  is  the  Lord's  passover,  who  i)assed  over  your 
houses  of  the  children  of  Israel  in  Egypt,  when  he  smote 
the  Egyptians,  and  delivered  our  houses.  And  the 
people  bowed  the  head  and  worshipped."  (Ex.  12  :  25- 
27.)  The  passover  also  symbolically  taught  the  death 
of  Christ  :  "  For  even  Christ  our  passover  is  sacrificed 
for  us  ;  therefore  let  us  keep  the  feast."  (i  Cor.  5  :  7.) 
The  blood  of  the  passover  lamb  was  sprinkled  upon  the 
lintel  of  the  door  of  each  Hebrew  dwelling  in  Egypt, 
seeing  which  the  angel  of  death  passed  over  all  such, 
while  in  all  others  the  oldest  son  or  daughter  was  smitten 
with  death  that  night.  The  passover  therefore  taught 
the  two  fundamental  principles  of  the  Christian  religion  : 
the  sacrificial  death  of  Christ  to  reveal  his  love  for  men, 
and  his  resurrection  from  the  dead  as  the  pledge  of  that 
of  his  saints.  This  is  the  religion,  then,  which  the  other 
nations  were  to  gain  by  offering  the  passover  ;  and  if  done 
unto  the  Lord,  done  in  the  spirit  of  its  intent,  having 
faith  in  Christ's  death  and  resurrection,  they  became 
joint  heirs  with  him  to  the  immortal  resurrection  and 
endless  inheritance  of  the  new  and  redeemed  world. 
T'hus  would  they  answer  the  end  and  only  end  for  which 
they  were  made  ;  consequently,  if  they  do  not  meet  this 
condition,  every  man  is  a  failure.     Instead,  therefore,  of 


WORKS  ESSENTIAL  TO  SALVATION.  1 9/ 

requiring  the  bond-servant  to  become  a  Hebrew  convert 
being  an  objection,  it  was  the  greatest  blessing  which 
could  have  been  conferred  upon  him. 

Wisdom  of  the  Laws  of  Moses  to  Secure  Justice. 

The  wisdom  of  the  laws  of  Moses  to  secure  justice  and 
equality  may  be  further  seen,  and  the  wanton  ignorance 
of  Ingersoll  exposed.  We  introduce  its  following  provi- 
sions :  ''  Judges  and  officers  shalt  thou  make  thee  in  all  thy 
gates,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee,  throughout  all 
thy  tribes  ;  and  they  shall  judge  the  people  with  just 
judgment.  Thou  shalt  not  wrest  judgment ;  thou  shalt 
not  respect  persons,  neither  take  a  gift;  for  a  gift  doth 
blind  the  eyes  of  the  wise,  and  pervert  the  words  of  the 
righteous.  That  which  is  altogether  just  shalt  thou 
follow,  that  thou  mayest  live,  and  inherit  the  land  the 
Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.  Thou  shalt  not  plant  a 
grove  of  trees  near  the  altar  of  the  Lord  thy  God  [to 
add  beautiful  attractions  of  human  invention  to  the 
place  where  God  alone  should  be  thought  of  and  wor- 
shipped] ;  neither  shalt  thou  set  thee  up  any  image ; 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  hateth.  And  if  there  be  found 
among  you  a  man  or  woman,  that  hath  wrought  wicked- 
ness in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  in  transgressing 
his  covenant,  and  hath  gone  and  served  other  gods  and 
worshipped  them,  either  the  sun  or  moon,  or  any  of  the 
host  of  heaven,  which  I  have  not  commanded  him;  and 
it  be  told  thee,  and  when  thou  hast  inquired  diligently, 
and  it  is  true  and  certain,  then  shalt  thou  bring  forth  the 
man  or  woman,  unto  the  gates,  and  shalt  stone  them  till 
they  die.  At  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses,  shall  he  that 
is  worthy  of  death,  be  put  to  death  ;  but  at  the  mouth  of 
one  witness  he  shall  not  be  put  to  death.  The  hands  of 
the  witnesses  shall  be  first  upon  him  to  put  him  to  death, 
and  afterward  the  hands  of  all  the  people.  So  shalt  thou 
put  away  the  evil  from  among  you."  (Deut.  i6  :  17, 
18.)  Here  is  the  very  highest  philosophy  for -the  pre- 
vention of  crime,  and  there  is  no  code  of  common  law, 
in  any  civil  state,  whose  substance  and  best  features  to 


1 98      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

secure  this  end  are  not  borrowed  from  the  laws  of  Moses. 
But  here  is  Ingersoll,  a  lawyer,  and  yet  sees  nothing  in 
them  but  a  tissue  of  ignorance  and  oppression,  too  bad  for 
a  devil  to  enact  and  execute.  "  But  wisdom  is  justified 
of  her  children;  "  and  a  man  must  be  wise  himself  to 
discover  and  appreciate  wisdom  in  others. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FUTURE    PUNISHMENT    CONFOUNDED    WITH    MYTHOLOGI- 
CAL   TORMENTS. 

In  describing  God's  punishment  of  the  wicked,  Inger- 
soU  uses  the  pkiral  as  though  there  were  a  number  of 
gods  thus  engaged,  while  all  the  connections  show  he 
aims  all  his  darts  at  the  living  God  ;  but  even  this  is 
hypocritical,  as  he  does  not  believe  there  is  any  such 
God,  and  is  only  used  as  a  decoy,  to  drag  the  weak,  who, 
for  the  time  being  may  not  have  sufficient  evidence  to 
demonstrate  God's  existence  in  order  to  draw  them  to 
his  own  despicable  level.  He  says  :  ' '  All  these  gods 
threaten  to  torment  the  souls  of  their  enemies  forever; 
did  any  devil  ever  make  so  infamous  a  threat?"  He 
evidently  uses  the  word  forever  in  the  sense  of  the 
mythological  tantalus  tartareus,  or  in  their  tartarean  dens, 
wherein  endless  miseries  were  inflicted  ;  but  Christ  said, 
''  Fear  him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body 
in  hell."  (Matt.  lo  :  28.)  Destroy  does  not  mean  to 
preserve  and  perpetuate.  He  said  again:  "These  shall 
go  away  into  everlasting  punishment,"  and  Paul  explains 
the  punishment  to  be  everlasting  destruction.  "And  to 
you  who  are  troubled  rest  with  us,  when  the  Lord  Jesus 
shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels, 
in  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not 
God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ :  who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  desti'uc- 
tion  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  from  the  glory  of 
his  power,  when  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his 
saints  and  to  be  admired  in  all  them  that  believe  in  that 
day."  (2  Thess.  i  :  7-10.)  In  regard  to  the  punish- 
ment of  the  wicked,  the  Scriptures  also  speak  thus : 
"  Thou  hast  destroyed  the  wicked,   thou  hast   put  out 


200      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

their  name  forever  and  ever,  their  memorial  is  perished 
with  them."      (Ps.    9.) 

The  word  forever,  or  forever  and  ever,  does  not  al- 
ways mean  without  end ;  but  is  limited  to  the  duration  of 
the  thing  to  which  it  is  applied,  and  in  this  case  to  mor- 
tal man,  and  the  wicked  will  always  be  mortal,  in  con- 
trast to  the  righteous,  who,  from  the  resurrection,  will  be 
immortal.  It  was  consistent  for  Pagan  philosophy,  or 
Egyptian  mythology,  to  inflict  endless  misery,  as  they 
taught  that  the  soul  was  the  man  proper,  and  that  it  was 
immortal.  It  was  also  consistent  for  them  to  change  the 
name  of  their  gods  to  demons,  who  could  be  so  cruel  as 
to  keep  man  alive  on  purpose  to  torment  him.  It  was 
also  consistent  for  these  Pagans,  who  believed  all  punish- 
ment should  be  reformatory,  to  invent  the  doctrine  of 
purgatory  which  was  taught  by  Socrates,  and  his  pupil 
Plato.  It  is  also  consistent  for  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  having  adopted  these  heathen  doctrines,  to  teach 
endless  misery.  But  whatever  is  meant  by  the  threat  to 
which  IngersoU  alludes,  as  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  it  is 
the  word  of  the  Maker  of  those  against  whom  it  is  pro- 
nounced, and  it  makes  no  difference.  Though  it  be  es- 
teemed infamous  by  those  who  incur  its  infliction,  the 
result  will  be  the  same ;  and  as  IngersoU  is  one  of  God's 
bitterest  enemies,  he  is  among  the  last  who  has  any  right 
to  remonstrate,  and  all  that  is  necessary,  in  order  to  have 
the  experience,  is  to  continue  the  fight  against  God,  his 
maker.  As  to  his  praise  of  the  devil  for  never  having 
made  such  a  threat,  it  is  illy  founded,  from  the  fact  that 
the  devil  has  no  power  to  do  such  an  act,  and  the  devil's 
modesty,  in  comparison  with  that  of  IngersoU,  has  kept 
him  from  coming  out  in  a  jiublic  speech,  loudly  proclaim- 
ing he  despised  and  defied  God ;  and  we  have  no  doubt 
but  that  the  devil  himself  despises  his  would-be  heroic  son, 
for  having  made  such  a  fool  of  himself. 

The  scoffer  says  again:  ''The  first  account  we  have 
of  the  devil,  is  found  in  that  purely  scientific  book,  called 
Genesis."  This  sarcastic  fling  is  an  attempt  to  make  his 
hearers  believe  him  to  l)e  a  scientist,  and  of  such  a  high 
type  that  he  knows  the  statements  of  Genesis,  touching 


FUTURE  PUNISHMENT  CONFOUNDED.        201 

nature,  and  the  creation  of  the  world,  to  be  erroneous. 
But  we  have  already  shown  those  statements,  as  to  the 
origin  of  things,  are  philosophic  necessities  ;  and  as  a  con- 
sequence the  erroneous  claims  of  modern  geology,  and 
evolution,  whose  conclusions  Ingersoll  adopts,  not  be- 
cause of  any  evidence  they  furnish  in  defence  of  the 
hypothesis,  but  because  he  loves  to  have  it  so.  ^'  If  the  ac- 
count given  in  Genesis  is  really  true,  ought  we  not,  after 
all,  to  thank  the  serpent  ?  He  was  the  first  schoolmaster 
— the  first  advocate  of  learning,  and  friend  of  inquiry — of 
doubt — of  investigation.  Give  me  the  storm  and  tem- 
pest of  thought  and  action,  rather  than  the  dead  calm  of 
ignorance  and  faith  !  Banish  me  from  Eden  when  you 
will ;  but  first  let  me  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge !  "  If  Adam  had  not  disobeyed  the  inhibition  of 
his  Maker  until  our  day,  Ingersoll  would  have  done  it, 
and  if  for  no  other  reason,  than  to  win  the  infamous  pop- 
ularity it  would  have  given  him.  The  knowledge  which 
his  schoolmaster  wished  his  pupils  to  learn,  was  the  ex- 
perience resulting  from  disobedience  to  the  commands  of 
their  Creator,  of  course,  becoming  loyal  subjects  of  their 
new  schoolmaster — the  Devil. 

The  Subtle  Schoolmaster' s  Opening  Address. 

His  Satanic  majesty,  in  his  opening  address,  said :  "  Kind 
friends,  you  are  desirous  of  having  knowledge — you  wish 
to  be  wise,  your  Maker  has  endowed  you  with  this  pas- 
sion, and  you  are  ignorant  of  a  good  many  things  you 
should  know :  some  of  these  I  have  experienced,  others 
I  anticipate  and  apprehend  by  faith,  as  I  have  every 
reason  for  believing  I  shall  have  fulness  of  such  knowl- 
edge. This  you  can  only  obtain  by  becoming  my  duti- 
ful students.  God  hath  said,  '  Ye  shall  surely  die,'  if  you 
eat  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  evil.  You  now  have 
no  conception  of  the  nature  of  this  death,  and  ye  shall 
not  surely  die,  as  you  have  free  access  to  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  life.  By  partaking  of  this,  your  physical  system 
will  be  kept  always  youthful ;  you  will  therefore  live  for- 
ever, and   as  you  are   ignorant   of  what  it  is  to  die,  you 


202      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

will  then  have  this  knowledge.  To  die,  implies  sickness 
and  pain — its  precursors  and  accompaniments.  Take  my 
advice,  and  you  will  no  longer  be  ignorant — you  will 
then  be  introduced  into  the  storm  and  tempest ;  but  you 
will  have  the  enjoyment  of  these  my  blessings  of  knowl- 
edge. In  your  present  condition  and  environment,  you 
have  everything  you  wish — the  very  earth  brings  forth 
spontaneously,  and  you  have  the  dead  calm  of  igno- 
rance, of  want  and  labor :  this  knowledge  I  propose  to 
teach ;  and  why  should  you  continue  longer  in  the  dead 
calm  ? 

Then  there  is  to  be  a  second  edition  of  death,  prepara- 
tory to  which  you  are  to  have  a  resurrection  to  shame 
and  everlasting  contempt,  of  which  you  will  also  remain 
forever  ignorant,  if  you  obey  God  ;  but  if  you  will  inves- 
tigate, think,  and  reason  like  a  man,  you  will  certainly 
be  wise  and  know  all  about  these  things.  I  myself  am 
laboring  under  the  chains  of  the  darkness  of  despair, 
against  the  judgment  of  the  great  day — last  day,  when 
the  wicked  of  all  nations  shall  be  gathered  together  to  be 
punished,  because  they  knew  their  Lord's  will,  but  did  it 
not.  The  place  of  punishment  is  to  be  a  lake  of  fire  and 
brimstone,  kindled  on  the  earth  at  that  time  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  into  which  a  Being  called  the  Son  of  man  is  to 
cast  me  and  all  liars,  all  my  children,  ''  all  of  whom  are 
to  be  burned  up,  that  shall  leave  of  them  neither  root 
nor  branch  ;  "  "  they  shall  consume  away  into  smoke," 
''  they  shall  become  nothing,"  ''  shall  be  as  though  they 
had  not  been."  This  work  is  to  be  executed  by  his  faith- 
ful angels.  Of  course  you  know  nothing  about  this  now, 
nor  from  my  words  can  you  have  the  least  conception  of 
them,  and  if  you  refuse  to  take  me  as  your  schoolmaster 
and  give  heed  to  my  instruction  you  will  always  be  igno- 
rant ;  but  if  you  will  listen  to  my  voice,  disbelieve  the 
word  and  commands  of  God,  doubt  his  existence  and 
cherish  your  doubts,  think,  be  a  freethinker,  reason  and 
investigate,  then  you  will  be  wise  and  have  the  experi- 
mental knowledge  of  evil,  for  you  must  take  nothing  by 
faith,  and  this  will  enable  you  to  contrast  what  you  have 
gained  and  what  you  have  lost,  what  it  is  to  be  cast  out 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT  CONFOUNDED.        203 

of  Eden  and  enter  on  the  storm  and  tempest  of  freethink- 
erism,  mental  independence.     Then  take  my  advice  : 

Hear  and  obey  my  lies, 
Eat  the  fruit  and  be  wise  ! 

It  is  for  this  knowledge,  Ingersoll  says,  *'We  should 
thank  the  serpent :  he  was  the  first  to  inspire  in  human 
ears  the  sacred  word  liberty — the  creator  of  ambition." 
These  satanic  words  were  the  lies:  ''Thou  shalt  not 
surely  die  ;  ye  shall  become  as  gods."  This  was  a  lie  of 
the  devil  about  his  own  experience.  He  was  an  angel, 
and  instead  of  being  exalted  by  his  ambitious  war 
against  his  Creator,  he  became  a  devil,  whose  destruction 
the  Son  of  man  is  to  execute  at  the  judgment  in  the  last 
day.  This  is  not  only  the  fate  awaiting  him,  but  all  his 
men-servants  who  obey  his  lies  and  assume  the  ambitious 
liberty  of  setting  up  their  will  against  that  of  their  Maker. 
It  is  the  spirit  of  Ingersollism  to  make  war  upon  every- 
thing above  itself.  It  is  that  of  the  conspirator,  anar- 
chist, the  nihilist  : 

"  In  pride,  presumptuous  pride,  man's  error  lies  ; 
All  quit  their  sphere  and  rush  into  the  skies. 
Men  would  be  angels — angels  would  be  Gods  ; 
Aspiring  to  be  Gods,  angels  fell  ; 
Aspiring  to  be  angels,  men  rebel  : 
He  who  reverses  nature's  laws 
Sins  against  the  eternal  cause."  — Pope. 

The  Scoffer''  s  Adjniration  of  the  DeviV  s  Modesty. 

He  says :  ' '  The  serpent  was  the  author  of  modesty, 
of  progress,  and  of  civilization."  ''  The  woman  said.  The 
serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did  eat."  This  sneaking, 
deceptive  manner  of  approach,  Ingersoll  calls  modesty. 
He  should  have  been  bold,  ambitious,  like  the  Colonel, 
not  lowly  creeping  into  the  garden,  but  walking  up- 
rightly, confront  his  Maker  face  to  face,  and  not  wait 
to  do  it  behind  his  back,  just  as  this  faithful  servant 
of  his  is  doing,  but  who  has  not  the  courage  to  meet  a 
human  antagonist  face  to  face  in  public  debate,   as  he  re- 


204      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

fused  to  do  when  challenged  by  the  author  of  this  book  ; 
and  it  should  have  been  at  the  opportune  moment,  when 
the  Lord  had  delivered  his  charge  to  Adam  and  Eve. 
Had  the  devil  not  been  a  coward,  he  would  have  walked 
up  boldly  and  said,  God,  you  want  to  keep  these  people 
in  ignorance,  which  I  despise,  and  I  also  despise  you  and 
defy  your  power  !  and  I  call  on  these  human  progenitors 
to  trample  your  restraining  laws  under  their  feet,  and  have 
a  drink  of  knowledge,  assert  their  liberty,  and  become 
gods  themselves,  and  know  all  about  evil,  be  wise.  And 
I  tell  you,  Adam  and  Eve,  you  had  better  obey  me  and 
become  progressive,  even  though  you  are  turned  out  of 
Eden ;  have  the  noble  consolation  to  know  you  are 
under  no  will  but  your  owai ;  everything  else  is  supersti- 
tion: 

"Better  reign  in  hell  than  serve  in  heaven." 

Behold  how  IngersoU  has  cast  off  the  modesty  of  his 
prototypic  serpent  ! 

Ingersoir  s  Foolish  Criticism  of  Job' s  Trial. 

To  obtain  a  glimpse  of  the  civilization  and  progress  of 
our  century,  of  which  the  serpent  is  the  author,  we  must 
look  into  the  cities,  the  centres  of  the  civilization,  in  order 
to  ascertain  the  standard  of  the  devildom  progress.  We 
invite  the  candid  attention  of  our  readers  to  the  incom- 
parable number  of  infamous  dens  Avherein  is  taught  the 
knowledge  the  devil  teaches,  and  seen  the  horrid  com- 
bination of  drunkenness,  prostitution,  and  murder,  and 
where  every  other  crime  is  concocted.  If  the  tree  is 
known  by  its  fruits,  so  certain  is  it,  even  in  the  closing 
period  of  our  century,  that  men  are  led  captive  by  Satan 
at  his  will  to  a  degree  of  God-defiance,  a  depth  and  uni- 
versality of  crime,  unknown  in  the  annals  of  the  world 
since  the  flood  ;  an  era  when  almost  universal  distrust 
among  men  prevails,  which  is  the  legitimate  outgrowth 
of  as  extensive  dishonesty.  As  a  house  divided  against 
itself  cannot  stand,  or  that  Satan  will  cast  out  Satan, 
the  development  must  go  on,  and  the  appalling  harvest  be 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONFOUNDED.        205 

reached.  According  to  Ingersoll,  this  unbeUef  of  the 
devil  and  his  children  is  the  honorable  source  from 
whence  has  flowed  our  modern  civilization  and  progress, 
but  which  the  facts  show  to  be  the  progress  of  all  the  low 
sentiments  and  vile  crimes  ever  known  to  human  devil- 
hood.  What  has  been  the  principle  cause  of  this  state  of 
things  is  the  atheistic  teaching  of  evolution,  under  the 
false  pretension  of  its  being  science.  As  it  leaves  no 
work  for  a  God  to  do  in  bringing  the  world  and  man 
into  existence,  he  is  not  their  owner,  and  has  no  right  to 
command  their  service.  In  view  of  which  these  atheists 
exhort  men  to  give  up  the  superstition  and  fear  of  a  God 
who  has  no  existence.  Of  course,  the  only  remedy  for 
the  evil  is  to  expose  the  false  science  by  showing  the 
true,  as  we  have  done  in  this  and  other  works. 

Ingersoll  says:  ''The  worst  thing  the  devil  ever  did 
was  his  abuse  of  Job,"  and  in  his  narration  of  the  cir- 
cumstances he  foolishly  flatters  himself  that  he  sets  the 
whole  book  aside  by  a  lie,  a  scoff,  and  a  joke.  Here  are 
his  words  :  "  The  basest  thing  recorded  of  the  devil  is 
what  he  did  concerning  Job  and  his  family  ;  and  that  was 
done  by  the  express  permission  of  one  of  the  gods,  and  to 
decide  a  little  difference  of  opinion  between  their  serene 
highnesses  as  to  the  character  of  '  my  servant  Job. '  "  A 
little  mind  belittles  everything  it  looks  at,  especially  if  it 
hates  the  thing;  and  Ingersoll' s  intense  hatred  of  all  the 
Bible  records  reduces  his  comprehension  of  them  to  the 
utmost  insignificance.  A  striking  example  is  what  he 
here  sees  and  says  about  the  book  of  Job.  In  replying  to 
his  funny  words  we  may  say,  that  in  the  east  where  Job 
lived,  and  in  his  day,  the  people  were  not  polytheists  nor 
atheists,  and  held  to  the  existence  of  one,  and  but  one, 
living  God.  Christ,  Job's  Redeemer,  and  the  only  Re- 
deemer, promised  Job  deliverance  from  the  power  of 
death  and  ransom  from  the  grave,  which  would  be  his 
salvation  ;  believing  which.  Job  was  saved  by  faith  while 
alive  in  the  world.  The  hope  of  such  a  salvation  en- 
couraged him  to  maintain  his  integrity  amid  all  his  suf- 
ferings and  losses,  so  that  when  informed  of  the  death  of 
all  his  children,  he  exclaimed,  ''  The  Lord  giveth,  and 


206      CONFLICT   OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

the  Lord  taketh  away ;  and  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  Job's  wife  was  one  of  the  devil's  modest 
children,  free  and  ambitious,  like  her  brother  Ingersoll, 
and,  using  his  phraseology,  said  to  Job,  ''  Curse  God 
and  die."  She  understood  that  kind  of  devilish  prog- 
ress would  bring  death,  but  being  on  the  devil's  side, 
he  did  not  wish  to  afflict  or  kill  her.  In  reply  to  the 
freethought  of  the  woman,  Job  said  :  "  You  talk  like  the 
foolish  women  ;  shall  we  receive  good  at  the  hand  of 
the  Lord  and  not  evil  ?  "  He  did  not  think,  with  Inger- 
soll, that  the  Lord  was  his  servant,  and  had  no  right  to 
do  anything  that  crossed  the  will  of  his  serene  highness. 

The  philosophy  of  Job's  friends  did  not  comprehend 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  the  funda- 
mental truth  of  Christianity,  and  that  they  might  be  thus 
informed,  God  gave  Job  an  inspired  revelation,  or  trans- 
figuration of  it,  just  as  he  saw  it  would  appear  when  ac- 
complished ;  as  an  architect  sees  and  knows  a  mansion 
will  appear,  when  built  according  to  his  plan.  When 
Job  received  the  vision,  and  for  fear  it  might  be  lost  to 
the  world,  or  corrupted  by  tradition,  he  exclaimed  : 
''  Oh  !  that  my  words  were  now  written  !  Oh  !  that  they 
were  printed  in  a  book  !  that  they  were  graven  with  an 
iron  pen  and  lead  in  the  rock  forever  !  for  I  know  that 
my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter 
day  upon  the  earth  :  and  though,  after  my  skin,  worms 
destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God  :  whom 
I  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not 
another  ;   though  my  reins  be  consumed  within  me." 

Job  here  saw  the  God  whom  his  friends  entitled  "  the 
Almighty,"  but  not  being  in  the  Abrahamic  line,  who 
alone  had  the  written  Scriptures,  these  had  by  corrupting 
tradition  mostly  lost  sight  of  the  knowledge  of  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  as  introductory  to  future  life.  In 
order  to  give  Job  and  the  other  branches  of  the  human 
family,  outside  of  the  chronological  line  of  Adam's  gen- 
erations, a  clearer  revelation  of  the  resurrection  and  of 
the  Redeemer,  being  God  himself  in  human  form,  who 
was  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  the  devil  was  permitted 
to  afflict  him  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability,  without  taking 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT  CONFOUNDED.        20^ 

his  life  :  God  foreseeing  that  these  miseries  would  call 
together  the  other  wise  men  of  the  country  to  mourn 
with  their  friend,  and  that  hearing  this  truth  from  Job 
would  correct  their  errors.  Job  was  now  confronted  with 
death  and  desired  to  die,  but  was  kept  back  from  suicide 
by  his  vague  hope  of  living  again,  implied  in  the  ques- 
tion :  ''  If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again  ?  "  After  the 
Lord  had  given  Job  the  new  revelation  and  healed  him  of 
his  sufferings,  he  said  to  Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  My  wrath 
is  kindled  against  thee,  and  thy  two  friends  :  for  ye  have 
not  spoken  of  me  the  thing  that  is  right,  as  my  ser- 
vant Job  hath.  Therefore  take  unto  you  now  seven  bul- 
locks and  seven  rams,  and  go  to  my  servant  Job,  and  offer 
up  for  yourselves  a  burnt  offering  ;  and  my  servant  Job 
shall  pray  for  you  ;  for  him  will  I  accept :  lest  I  shall 
deal  with  you  after  your  folly,  in  that  ye  have  not  spoken 
of  me  the  thing  which  is  right,  like  my  servant  Job.  So 
they  did  as  the  Lord  commanded  them  ;  the  Lord  also  ac- 
cepted Job,  and  the  Lord  turned  the  captivity  of  Job 
when  he  prayed  for  his  friends  ;  also  the  Lord  gave  Job 
twice  as  much  as  he  had  before."  (Job  42  :  7-10.) 
Another  object  for  permitting  this  occurrence  was  to  give 
an  example  of  patience  under  the  most  extreme  losses  and 
sufferings  which,  by  the  ordinary  concurrence  of  events, 
would  never  be  exceeded,  and  if  Job  bore  it  without  turn- 
ing against  his  God,  who  he  believed  inflicted  it,  there 
would  be  no  excuse  in  the  future  for  those  who  suffered 
less  to  do  so.  That  it  is  used  for  this  purpose  in  Script- 
ure shows  it  to  have  been  one  of  these  objects.  James 
says :  ' '  Take  my  brethren  the  prophets  [and  Job  was  one 
of  God's  prophets],  who  have  spoken  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  for  an  example  of  suffering,  affliction,  and  patience. 
Behold,  we  count  them  happy  which  endure.  Ye  have 
heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,  and  we  have  seen  the  end  of 
the  Lord  ;  that  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and  of  tender 
mercy."      (James  5  :  10,  11.) 

The  event  also  shows  that  the  devil  cannot  inflict 
physical  evil  upon  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  if  he  can 
upon  others,  and  the  latter  are  his  friends — ''  our  friends," 
says  Ingersoll;  and  if  he  does  afflict  these  thus,  he  is 


208      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

meaner  than  his  servant  Ingersoll  gives  him  credit  for. 
The  only  use  the  devil  makes  of  his  faithful  servants  is 
to  seduce  the  saints  of  God  to  become  his  servants. 
Another  fact  taught  in  this  Scripture  is  that  the  devil  is 
not  yet  in  hell,  but  walking  up  and  down  in  the  earth, 
and  that  he  is  often  unable  to  accomplish  what  he  under- 
takes, and  which  may  do  his  cause  vastly  more  harm 
than  good.  As  the  devil  is  a  liar,  he  may  here  falsify 
his  location  ;  but  it  is  confirmed  by  the  apostle  Peter, 
thus  :  '^  Be  sober,  be  vigilant,  because  your  adversary  the 
devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he 
may  devour  :  whom  resist,  steadfast  in  the  faith,  knowing 
that  the  same  afflictions  are  accomplished  in  your  brethren 
that  are  in  the  world."  Thus  are  we  obliged  to  follow 
this  man's  cavils,  not  merely  by  opposing  assertion  by 
assertion,  opinion  by  opinion,  sarcasm  with  sarcasm, 
or  ridicule  with  ridicule,  but  by  reason  and  argument 
to  have  investigated  those  passages  of  Scripture  against 
which  the  scoffer  aims  his  illogical,  unphilosoi)hic,  and 
unscientific  thrusts,  as  to  show  them  to  be  such,  and  to 
present  the  ideas  which  the  same  passages  teach ;  and  by 
this  means  qualify  those  who  have  read  or  heard  Inger- 
soll to  refute  him,  as  well  as  all  other  sceptics  of  the 
past,  present,  or  future. 

Did  we  not  know  that  this  lecture  on  the  gods  of 
Ingersoll's  has  been  i)ublished  in  various  forms  and  spread 
over  the  country,  it  would  be  a  serious  question  whether 
we  should  give  it  this  publicity.  Neither  can  what  he 
pulls  down  in  a  single  lecture  be  built  up  in  the  same 
brief  space.  A  city  of  a  thousand  years'  growth  may  be 
laid  in  ashes  in  a  single  night.  What  Ingersoll  says 
about  the  record  of  Job's  affliction  and  what  we  were 
obliged  to  say  in  answer  illustrates  the  idea.  We  may 
also  add,  that  to  defend  the  Scrii)tures  to  the  satisfaction 
of  careful  readers,  against  which  the  arch  sceptic  says  of 
them,  forever  disarms  him  and  all  classes  of  infidels  who 
question  the  fact  that  they  teach  the  existence  of  a 
l)ersonal  devil  and  a  personal  (lod,  the  one  a  creature 
and  the  other  his  Creator.  Ingersoll  is  armed  with  all 
of  that  which  all  the  sceptics  of  the  past  have  said,  and 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONFOUNDED.        2O9 

with  the  conclusions  or  assertions  of  modern  sceptical 
science — astronomy,  geology,  and  evolution,  as  to  the 
origin  of  the  world,  which  are  held  to  be  irreconcilable 
with  the  statements  of  the  work  as  recorded  in  the  book 
of  Genesis — and  of  course  to  refute  him  is  to  refute  all  the 
rest.  Not  to  do  this  thoroughly,  producing  a  sufficient 
amount  of  evidence  to  expose  the  fallacy  of  all  such 
attacks,  might  better  not  have  been  attempted. 

Hard  Driven  for  Matter  to  Ridicule. 

Says  IngersoU,  "  Man,  having  always  been  the  physical 
superior  of  woman,  accounts  for  the  fact  that  most  of 
the  high  gods  have  been  males.  Had  woman  been  the 
physical  superior,  the  powers  supposed  to  be  the  rulers  of 
nature  would  have  been  women,  and  instead  of  being 
represented  in  the  apparel  of  man,  they  would  have  been 
caricatured  in  trains,  low-necked  dresses,  and  back-hair." 
If  he  had  legitimately  carried  out  the  idea  by  saying  the 
men  would  have  been  beardless,  and  their  voice  tuned 
an  octave  higher — in  a  word,  that  the  sex  had  changed 
places,  it  would  have  shown  the  absurdity  of  the  allusion, 
heightened  by  the  supposition  that  women  could  have 
been  the  leaders  in  war  and  government  simply  by  ex- 
changing habihments,  and  not  letting  their  hair  grow 
long.  All  we  were  going  to  say  in  answer  to  this  was. 
Foolishness  !  but  we  will  add  that  it  shows  to  what  an 
extremity  its  author  is  driven  to  drag  in  such  silly  things 
in  attempting  to  degrade  the  gods,  as  he  expresses  it,  but 
means  the  only  living  and  true  God ;  for  who  would 
have  paid  to  hear  him  lecture  on  the  gods  if  none 
beheved  there  was  a  living  God  in  existence?  The 
sentimental  sympathy  so  often  expressed  by  IngersoU  for 
the  suffering  women,  sinners  against  the  laws  of  God, 
forbids  his  making  any  other  comparison  of  superiority 
of  man  than  the  mere  physical  brute  force,  not  being 
able  to  attain  to  the  conception  that  all  power  is  of  the 
mind.  "Nothing,"  says  he,  ''can  be  plainer  than  that 
each  nation  gives  to  its  god  its  peculiar  characteristics, 
and  that  each  individual  gives  to  his  god  his  personal 


210      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

peculiarities."  In  the  history  of  idolatrous  worship,  no 
image  or  likeness  of  man  or  woman  has  been  so  univer- 
sally adored  as  those  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  planets. 
Even  the  names  of  the  days  of  the  week  had  their  origin 
in  the  division  of  the  worship  paid  to  the  divinities, 
commencing  with  that  of  the  sun.  Sun -day,  so  named 
because  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  the  sun.  Moon-day 
(Sax.),  the  particular  day  for  the  worship  of  the  moon. 
Tues-day  (among  the  ancients,  Tug),  the  Teutonic 
deity  of  war  and  combat  which  it  deified.  Wednes-day 
derives  its  name  from  Oden,  the  Scandinavian  deity,  the 
father  of  Thor  and  the  Woden  of  the  Saxons.  Thor,  in 
Scandinavian  mythology,  was  the  son  of  Odin  and  Frega, 
the  god  of  thunder,  and  from  which  we  have  Thursday. 
Fri-day  is  from  Frigga  (Sax.,  Frician)  ;  the  sixth  day  of 
the  week  was  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  these  gods. 
And  Satur-day  to  the  worship  of  the  planet  Saturn. 

These,  and  not  men  and  women  images,  were  the  most 
ancient  gods  of  idol-worship,  and  the  most  elevating,  be- 
cause of  their  shining  splendor  and  importance  to  the  vi- 
tality and  fruitfulness  of  plants  and  animals  ;  and  yet  the 
nations  thus  worshipping  gave  no  national  peculiarities  to 
these  gods,  much  less  were  they  conceived  to  possess  any 
peculiarities  of  the  worshipper,  but  rather  that  they  gath- 
ered from  them  their  own  most  prominent  peculiarities  ; 
and  instead  of  the  people  making  these  national  gods 
what  they  were,  the  gods  made  the  people  what  they 
themselves  were,  exactly  reversing  Ingersoll's  statements 
and  conceptions  of  ancient  mythology.  It  would  have 
been  amazing  had  any  other  than  he  to  have  so  con- 
strued the  lessons  taught  by  the  existence  of  the  mytho- 
logical gods ;  but  any  absurdity  may  be  expected  from 
this  man's  reasonless  rant.  From  Ingersoll's  flippant 
talk  about  ancient  mythology  it  might  be  inferred  that 
he  was  a  cla.ssical  scholar,  at  least  well  acquainted  with 
the  mythic  sciences,  while  the  effort  shows  his  ignorance 
both  of  its  historic  facts  and  their  ])hilosophic  teaching, 
which  almost  universally  goes  to  show  that  the  gods  the 
peoi)le  made  were  conceived  only  to  represent  or  sym- 
bolize the  one  living  and  sui)remc  God  and  Creator  of 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONFOUNDED.        211 

the  world,  and  its  lowest  form  of  worship  was  that  which 
made  the  lights  and  flames  they  themselves  had  kindled 
sacred ;  but  this  sacredness  was  conceived  to  symbolize 
the  great  lights  of  heaven — the  sun,  moon,  and  stars. 

Plato' s  Discourse  on  the  Formation  of  the  World. 

We  learn  from  the  discourse  of  Plato  on  the  formation 
of  the  world,  that  he  attributed  the  existence  of  all  gods 
and  things  to  the  fiat  of  the  one  Supreme  Deity.  On 
one  occasion  Plato's  friends  implored  him  to  guide  them 
to  the  true  origin  of  the  world  ;  complying,  he  seated 
himself  in  the  temple  of  Minerva,  and  said:  ''Feeble 
mortals  that  we  are  !  is  it  for  us  to  penetrate  the  secrets 
of  the  divinity?  for  us,  the  wisest  of  whom  is  to  the  Su- 
preme Being  what  an  ape  is  to  us  !  [Behold,  how  our 
generation  has  degenerated,  taking  Ingersoll  as  its  repre- 
sentative, who,  being  an  evolutionist,  traces  his  pedigree 
to  an  ape,  and  which  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  contrast- 
ing the  sublimity  of  this  discourse  of  a  Grecian  philoso- 
pher who  Hved  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago,  with 
the  low,  foolish  harangue  dehvered  by  Ingersoll  at 
Booth's  Theatre  on  the  gods.]  I  entreat  him  to  inspire 
me  with  such  ideas  and  such  language  as  will  be  pleasing 
to  him  and  conformable  to  reason.  The  God  which  I 
declare  unto  you  is  a  God,  single,  immutable,  and  infin- 
ite ;  the  centre  of  all  perfection,  and  the  inexhaustible 
source  of  intelligence  and  being.  Before  he  had  created 
the  universe,  before  he  had  externally  displayed  his 
power,  he  was ;  for  he  had  no  beginning,  he  was  in 
himself,  he  existed  in  the  profundity  of  eternity.  No  ! 
my  expressions  do  not  correspond  to  the  elevation  of  my 
ideas,  nor  ray  ideas  to  the  subHmity  of  my  subject. 
Thus,  from  all  eternity  existed  God,  the  author  of  all 
good ;  and  that  model  according  to  which  he  had  deter- 
mined to  reduce  matter  to  order."  That  it  was  not  the 
opinion  of  heathenism  that  men  created  even  the  subor- 
dinate gods,  as  Ingersoll  says,  we  have  the  following 
from  the  same  discourse  :  ' '  And  now  the  Author  of  all 
things  thus  addressed  the  genii  whom  he  had  made  and 


212      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

to  whom  he  had  committed  the  government  of  the  stars  : 
Ye  gods,  who  owe  to  me  your  birth,  hsten  to  my  sover- 
eign commands.  You  have  not  a  title  to  immortahty, 
but  you  may  participate  in  it  by  the  power  of  my  will, 
more  potent  than  the  bonds  which  unite  the  parts  of 
which  you  are  composed.  It  remains  for  you  to  give 
perfection  to  this  grand  whole,  to  fill  with  inhabitants 
the  seas,  the  earth,  and  the  air.  Were  these  creatures 
to  receive  life  from  me,  they  would  be  exempt  from  the 
empire  of  death,  and  become  equal  to  the  gods  them- 
selves ;  I  therefore  commit  to  you  the  care  of  producing 
them  :  delegates  of  my  power,  unite  to  perishing  bodies 
the  germs  of  immortality,  which  you  shall  receive  from 
me ;  and  form  those  beings  who  may  command  over 
animals  to  remain  subject  to  you.  Let  them  receive 
birth  at  your  command,  live  to  increase  by  your  bene- 
factions, and  after  death,  let  them  be  united  to  you  and 
share  in  your  happiness."  How  does  this  philosophic 
reasoner  reverse  IngersoUism — that  the  people  made  the 
gods,  and  that  in  his  narrow  conception  no  god  or  be- 
ing exists  higher  or  greater  than  himself?  This  is  the  tes- 
timony of  Plato,  the  pupil  of  Socrates,  and  having  had 
his  education  in  Egypt,  understood  the  mythological 
doctrines  of  all  the  past  ages. 

Testimony  of  Xcuophon  :  God  in  Nature. 

Xenophon  was  one  of  the  pupils  of  Plato  and  the  his- 
torian of  Socrates,  whose  testimony  upon  the  nature  and 
history  of  gods  whom  Ingersoll  says  the  people  made, 
may  appear  in  contrast.  Xenophon  has  transmitted  to  us 
a  conversation  of  Socrates  with  Euthydemus  upon  provi- 
dence, which  is  one  of  the  finest  passages  found  in  the 
writings  of  the  ancients,  and  which  is  as  follows:  '*  Did 
you  ever  reflect  within  yourself,  how  much  care  the  gods 
have  taken  to  bestow  upon  man  all  that  is  necessary  for  his 
nature?  Never,  I  a.ssure  you,  replied  Euthydemus.  You 
see,  continued  Socrates,  how  necessary  light  is,  and  how 
precious  that  gift  of  the  gods  ought  to  appear  to  us. 
Without  it,  added  Euthydemus,  we  should  be  like  th^ 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONFOUNDED.        213 

blind,  and  all  nature  as  if  it  were  dead,  or  were  not ;  but 
because  we  have  occasion  for  suspense  and  relaxation,  they 
have  also  given  us  the  night  for  our  repose.  You  are 
right,  and  for  this  we  ought  to  render  them  continual 
praises  and  thanksgiving. 

They  have  ordained  that  the  sun,  that  bright,  luminous 
star,  should  preside  over  the  day,  to  distinguish  its  differ- 
ent parts,  and  that  its  light  should  not  only  serve  to  dis- 
cover the  wonders  of  nature,  but  to  dispense  light  and 
heat ;  and  at  the  same  time  they  commanded  the  moon 
and  stars  to  illuminate  the  night  of  its  darkness  and  ob- 
scurity. Is  there  anything  more  admirable  than  this 
variety,  or  vicissitude  of  day  and  night,  of  hght  and  dark- 
ness, of  labor  and  rest ;  and  all  this  for  the  good  and  con- 
venience of  man  ?  "  Socrates  enumerates  in  like  manner, 
the  infinite  advantages  we  receive  from  fire  and  water,  in 
the  occasions  of  life,  and  continues  to  discourse  upon  the 
wonderful  attention  of  providence  in  all  that  regards  us. 

"  What  say  you,  pursued  he,  upon  the  sun's  return  after 
winter,  to  revisit  us,  and  that  as  the  fruits  of  one  season 
wither  and  decay,  he  ripens  new  ones  to  succeed  them  ? 
That,  having  rendered  man  this  service,  he  retires,  lest  he 
should  incommode  him  by  excess  of  heat ;  and  then  after 
having  removed  to  a  certain  point,  which  he  could  not 
pass  without  putting  us  in  danger  of  perishing  with  cold, 
that  he  returns  in  the  same  track  to  resume  his  place  in 
those  parts  of  the  heavens  where  his  presence  is  most 
beneficial  to  us  ?  And  because  we  could  endure  neither 
the  cold  nor  the  heat,  if  we  were  to  pass  in  an  instant 
from  the  one  extreme  to  another,  do  you  not  admire, 
that  whilst  this  star  approaches,  and  removes  so  slowly, 
the  two  extremities  arrive  by  almost  insensible  degrees? 
Is  it  possible  not  to  discover,  in  this  disposition  of  the 
seasons  of  the  year,  a  providence  and  goodness,  not  only 
attentive  to  our  necessities,  but  even  our  delights  and  en- 
joyments? All  these  things,  said  Euthydemus,  make 
me  doubt,  whether  the  gods  have  any  other  employment 
than  to  shower  down  their  gifts  and  grace  upon  mankind. 
There  is  one  point,  however,  that  puts  me  at  a  stand, 
which  is,  that  the  brute  animals  partake  in  all  these  bless- 


214      CONFLICT  OF  THE   NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

ings  as  well  as  ourselves.  Yes,  replied  Socrates ;  but  do 
you  not  observe,  that  all  these  animals  subserve  only 
man's  service?  The  strongest  and  most  vigorous  of 
them,  he  subjects  to  his  will,  and  makes  them  tame  and 
gentle,  and  uses  them  successfully  in  his  wars,  his  labors, 
and  the  occupations  of  life.  What  if  we  consider  man  in 
himself?  "  Here,  Socrates  examines  the  diversity  of  the 
seasons,  by  the  ministry  of  which  man  enjoys  all  that  is 
best  and  excellent  in  nature,  the  vivacity  of  his  wit,  and 
the  force  of  his  reason,  which  exalt  him  infinitely  above 
all  other  animals ;  the  wonderful  gift  of  speech,  by  means 
of  which  we  communicate  our  thoughts  reciprocally, 
publish  our  laws,  and  govern  states.  '' The  Great  God 
himself  [this  shows  that  Socrates  acknowledged  but  one 
supreme  God,  the  sole  author  of  all  beings,  and  as  supe- 
rior to  all  others  as  the  Creator  is  to  the  creature,  all  of 
which,  whether  animate  or  inanimate,  are  ministers  of 
his  will],  who  has  formed  the  universe,  and  supports  the 
stupendous  work,  whose  every  part  is  finished  with  the 
utmost  goodness  and  harmony ;  and  who  preserves  them 
perpetually,  in  immortal  vigor,  and  causes  them  to  obey 
him  with  a  never-failing  punctuality,  and  a  rapidity  not 
to  be  followed  by  our  imagination :  this  God  makes 
himself  sufficiently  visible  by  the  endless  wonders  of 
which  he  is  the  author."  But  to  all  this  and  of  all  this 
IngersoU  is  totally  blind  and  ignorant  ! 

Socrates  continues  :  ''  Let  us  not  then  refuse  to  believe 
even  what  we  do  not  see,  and  let  us  supply  the  defect  of 
our  corporeal  eyes,  by  using  those  of  reason  ;  but  especially 
let  us  learn  to  render  the  just  homage  of  respect  and  ven- 
eration to  the  divinity,  whose  will  it  seems  to  be,  that  we 
have  no  other  perception  of  him  than  by  his  effects  in  our 
favor.  [The  i)rogressive  IngersoU  says  :  ''I  despise  him 
— I  trample  him  under  my  feet — I  defy  him  !  "  What 
a  degraded  piece  of  humanity,  when  compared  with  the 
heathen  Socrates  !]  ''  Now  this  adoration,  this  homage, 
consists  in  pleasing  him,  and  we  can  only  })lease  him  by 
obeying  his  will.  In  this  way,"  says  Xenophon,  *' Soc- 
rates instructed  the  youth  ;  these  are  the  i)rinciples  he 
inspired  in  them ;  on  the  one  side  a  perfect  submission  to 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONFOUNDED.        21 5 

the  laws  and  magistrates,  in  which  he  made  justice  con- 
sist ;  on  the  other  hand  a  profound  regard  for  the  divin- 
ity, which  constitutes  worship.  In  things  surpassing  our 
understanding,  he  advises  us  to  consult  the  gods,  and  as 
they  only  impart  to  those  that  please  them,  he  recom- 
mends, above  all  things,  the  making  them  propitious  by 
a  wise  regularity  of  conduct.  The  gods  are  wise,  says 
he,  and  it  depends  upon  them  either  to  grant  what  we 
ask,  or  to  give  us  directly  the  reverse  of  it.  He  cites  an 
excellent  prayer  from  an  anonymous  poet :  '  Great  God, 
give  us,  we  beseech  thee,  those  good  things  of  which  we 
stand  in  need,  whether  we  crave  them  or  not ;  and  re- 
move from  us  all  those  things  which  may  be  hurtful  to 
us,  though  we  implore  them  of  thee.'  The  vulgar  im- 
agine that  there  are  things  which  the  gods  observe,  and 
others  of  which  they  take  no  notice ;  but  Socrates  taught 
that  the  gods  observe  all  our  actions  and  words ;  that 
they  penetrate  into  our  most  secret  thoughts,  are  present 
in  all  our  deliberations,  and  inspire  us  in  all  our  actions." 
Although  Socrates  talked  of  the  gods  as  a  polytheist, 
yet  when  men  came  to  pray,  praise,  and  worship,  it  must 
always  be  to  the  great  Supreme  Creator,  the  single 
divinity.  Here  he  was  a  theist.  He  recognized  but  one 
God,  the  Creator  of  all  things  and  beings.  He  knew  of 
the  actions,  words,  thoughts,  and  motives  of  his  creature, 
man — hence  of  his  abilities  and  susceptibilities — ^just  as 
men  know  the  possibilities  of  those  things  they  design 
and  make,  and  that,  too,  before  they  are  made.  These 
are  the  creatures  of  man's  creation,  and  no  matter  who 
made  them,  he  has  a  perfect  knowledge  of  all,  and 
whether  they  will  answer  the  purpose  for  which  the  me- 
chanic designed  them ;  and  in  the  comparative  scale  of 
being,  has  not  the  Creator  of  man  the  same  knowledge  of 
him,  and  when  there  will  be  a  sufficient  number  of  them, 
in  a  given  time,  who  will  be  induced  by  his  goodness  and 
love  to  please  and  obey  him,  thereby  answering  the  pur- 
pose for  which  he  made  all  ? 


2l6      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 


IVIiat  makes  a  Man  a  Philosopher  ? 

It  was  by  the  observation  of  nature  and  relation  of 
things  that  made  the  thinking,  reasoning  Socrates  a  phi- 
losopher ;  he  thus  discovered  the  existence  of  God,  his 
attributes,  moral  and  mental  qualities,  from  those  of  his 
own — the  reflex  from  the  image,  the  like  from  the  like- 
ness. It  was  not  merely  a  matter  of  faith,  but  of  logical 
knowledge.  To  him  it  were  as  fanatical  to  talk  about 
believing  there  is  a  God,  the  Creator  of  man  and  the 
world,  as  for  the  man  to  talk  about  believing  he  made 
the  machines,  or  that  he  himself  exists  ;  that  it  is  his  belief 
he  is  pleased  with  some  of  his  own  works  and  displeased 
with  others  ;  that  he  believes  he  will  destroy  everything  he 
has  made  which  fails  to  answer  the  purpose  for  which  he 
designed  it.  We  may  believe,  uix)n  evidence,  in  things 
which  are  things  of  i)romise  ;  but  things  of  existence  must 
be  known  by  observation  or  historic  fact,  and  hence  it 
becomes  logical  knowledge.  But  Ingersoll,  not  knowing 
enough  about  these  themes  of  natural,  moral,  and  religious 
science  and  the  philosophy  of  things,  supposes  everybody 
equally  deficient,  talks  about  this  knowledge  as  that  of 
mere  faith. 

The  Scripture  doctrine  of  faith,  as  we  have  seen,  relates 
to  the  fulfilment  of  the  reward  promised  to  his  peojjle  at 
the  end  of  tlic  world  ;  which  can  only  become  knowledge 
by  such  fulfilment.  Neither  of  these  principles  of  the 
knowledge  of  God  by  his  works  and  word  come  within 
the  present  conception  of  Ingersoll,  though  adapted  to 
the  mental  calibre  of  mere  youth  ;  which  fact  is  only  to  be 
explained  l)y  his  wilful  ignorance — the  love  of  moral  and 
religious  darkness.  How  does  the  reasoning  or  freethink- 
ing  of  such  a  man  look  by  the  side  of  those  of  Socrates, 
whose  mental  and  religious  faculties  exalted  him  to  such 
a  knowledge  of  the  Creator  by  the  revelation  of  his  works, 
without  that  revealed  in  Scripture,  which  rendered  it  im- 
possible for  him  to  be  an  atheist  on  the  one  hand  or  a 
polytheist  on  the  other.  In  this  exalted  state  of  mind, 
he  was  as  true  a  worshipper,  as  loving  and  obedient  ser- 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONFOUNDED.        21/ 

vant  of  God,  as  the  Scripture  revelations  could  have  made 
him.  The  highest  standard  set  up  in  the  word  of  God 
is  the  supreme  motive  of  a  man  to  please  and  obey  his 
Creator ;  from  such  a  heart  everything  else  of  Christian 
requisition,  in  relation  to  God  or  man,  follows.  This  is 
the  man  whose  estimate  of  the  progress  of  our  age  is  to 
be  attributed  to  freethinkerism,  but  which  to  describe 
truthfully  in  all  these  relations,  the  word  retrogression 
should  be  substituted  for  that  of  progress  !  For  once  we 
agree  with  IngersoU,  that  the  boasted  progress  of  our 
age  must  be  accredited  to  the  freethinkers,  of  whom  and 
among  whom  IngersoU  is  held  to  be  chief. 


Heathen  Philosopheis  in  Advance  of  Freethinkers. 

These  advanced  views  of  God  and  nature  were  also 
those  of  Democrates,  Euclid,  and  Aristotle.  In  fact,  not 
one  of  the  philosophers  contemporary  with  any  of  those 
differed  upon  these  great  truths,  or  confounded  God  with 
nature.  Not  one  was  either  a  pantheist  or  an  agnostic, 
the  latter  of  whom  theoretically  accepts  everything,  but 
merges  all  into  a  heterogeneous  mass  of  impenetrable 
and  indefinable  confusion,  a  death  and  burial  of  all  cer- 
tain knowledge  and  all  faith,  though  founded  upon  the 
most  conclusive  evidence.  We  have  the  telescope  and 
microscope,  with  superior  chemical  apparatus,  furnishing 
greater  facilities  for  the  study  of  nature,  with  this  same 
open  book  which  lay  before  those  wise  men  of  antiquity ; 
and  what  a  reflection  upon  our  modern  scientists  (so 
called)  that,  instead  of  elevating  their  minds  to  sublimer 
thoughts  and  conceptions,  the  most  prominent  of  them 
are  busily  engaged  in  searching  among  the  lowest  animals 
and  insects  for  the  lost  links  of  the  chain  which  unites 
them  to  such  an  evolutionary  ancestry,  instead  of  being 
the  most  noble  work  of  God.  This  so-called  freethought 
sees  no  being  in  the  universe  higher  or  better  than  them- 
selves. Alas  !  what  progress  is  this  ?  Those  ancient  phi- 
losophers knew  nothing  of  the  Scriptures,  except  as  com- 
ing through  the  necessarily  corrupt  channel  of  tradition, 


2l8      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

which  shows  that  their  knowledge  of  God  as  the  Creator, 
and  that  of  his  moral  and  natural  goodness,  was  not  de- 
rived from  that  source  ;  and  yet  their  statements  clearly 
show  they  obtained  the  same  knowledge  by  the  study  of 
nature,  the  works  of  God,  as  that  revealed  in  the  Bible, 
thereby  answering  the  highest  end  of  his  being,  the  spirit- 
ual service  of  God  his  Maker.  Take  the  following  as  an 
example  of  such  instruction:  *' For  the  invisible  things 
of  God,  from  the  creation  of  the  world,  are  clearly  seen ; 
being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his 
eternal  power  and  Godhead  -,  so  that  they  are  without 
excuse."  (Rom.  i:  20.)  AVe  have  seen  that  these  heathen 
philosophers  learned  the  goodness  and  grace  of  God  by 
the  study  of  nature,  and  that  it  drew  from  them  perpetual 
homage  and  praise,  and  the  acknowledgment  that  the  in- 
terest for  the  happiness  of  man  occupied  the  whole  time 
and  attention  of  God  ;  and  this  goodness  led  them  to  love, 
please,  and  obey  him. 

The  following  passage  also  conveys  the  same  instruc- 
tion, which  is  brought  as  a  reproof  for  its  ignorance  : 
*'0r  despisest  thou  the  riches  of  his  goodness  and  for- 
bearance and  long-suffering  ;  not  knowing  that  the  good- 
ness of  God  leadeth  thee  to  rei)entance. "  (Rom.  2  :  20.) 
Here  is  God's  goodness,  eternal  power,  and  Godhead 
revealed  by  the  nature  of  his  works,  and  which  can  only 
be  predicated  of  an  eternal  being,  and  which  compre- 
hends him  in  all  forms  of  his  manifestation,  especially  that 
of  his  Immanuelization  and  personality,  all  of  which  are 
revealed  by  the  things  that  are  made  known  to  his  (God's) 
thinking,  reasoning  students.  By  the  Immanuelization, 
God  became  visible  and  palpable  to  the  senses,  as  he  was 
invisible  from  the  creation  of  the  world  down  to  this 
event,  and  in  which  form  he  is  the  destined  re-creator  of 
man  and  the  world.  These  successive  manifestations  and 
creations  are  contrasted  in  scores  of  passages  of  Scripture. 
Here  is  one:  "  For  our  light  afflictions,  which  are  but 
•for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and 
eternal  weight  of  glory  ;  while  we  look  not  at  the  things 
which  are  seen,  but  on  those  things  which  are  not  seen 
[the  coming  glory,  not  seen  as  yet]  :   for  the  things  which 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONFOUNDED.        219 

are  seen   are   temporal ;    but   the  things  which   are   not 
seen  are  eternal."      (2  Cor.  4  :    17,  18.) 

A  heathen  poet  gives  us  the  following  beautiful  lines 
upon  the  subject  of  future  being,  the  same  common  rea- 
soning of  the  philosophers  upon  the  nature  of  man,  and 
which  like  that  of  the  Scriptures,  as  inducement,  points  to 
purity  and  perfect  self-sacrifice  as  fitness  for  association 
with  the  pure  and  holy  God  : 

*'  If  there's  a  power  above  us — and  that  there  is, 
Nature  cries  aloud,  through  all  lier  works — 
He  must  delight  in  virtue,  and  that  which 
He  delights  in  must  be  happy. 
'Tis  the  divinity  that  stirs  within  us — 
'Tis  heaven  itself,  that  points  out  an 
Hereafter,  and  intimates  eternity  to  man  !  " 

— Cato's  Soliloquy. 


Iiigersoir  s  Ignorance  of  Scripture. 

Nothing  is  clearer  in  the  lecture  of  Ingersoll  on  the 
gods,  than  that  its  author  does  not  claim  to  know  any- 
thing about  any  of  them,  and  he  does  not  disappoint  his 
readers  by  betraying  any  knowledge  upon  the  subject. 
It  is  also  clear  that,  whatever  is  intended,  his  warfare  is 
not  waged  against  those  who  know  about  God,  but  those 
who  believe  about  him.  Upon  these  he  has  exhausted 
his  vocabulary,  spent  his  noisy  thunders,  and  issued  all  his 
painted  lightnings,  so  that  he  has  nothing  left  for  those 
who  have  knowledge  of  God.  By  this  attitude  he  con- 
fesses profound  ignorance  of  two  things :  to  wit,  that  as 
he  does  not  know  there  is  a  God,  of  course  he  can  know 
nothing  about  him  ;  secondly,  that  he  has  no  evidence 
for  believing  there  is  one.  If  he  is  an  honest  man  and 
has  no  such  evidence,  he  would  not  oppose  others  for 
entertaining  similar  sentiments,  much  less  abuse  them 
for  so  doing.  If  he  had  such  knowledge  or  belief,  how 
could  he  enter  into  an  irrepressible  conflict  with  those 
who  claimed  to  have  the  same.  It  will  be  seen  that  this 
reasoning  exposes  the  notion  of  some  who  say  that  Inger- 
soll does  not  beUeve  what  he  says,  and  thus  charge  him 


220      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

with  hypocrisy  ;  while  our  idea  is  that  he  is  one  of  those 
who  tells  a  lie  so  often  that  he  believes  it  himself.  He 
not  only  professes  perfect  ignorance  upon  the  general  sub- 
ject, but  upon  all  its  particulars,  as  he  sees  no  God  in 
nature  but  nature  herself;  and  this  shift  is  only  an  am- 
biguous shift,  to  appear  to  modify  the  rancor  of  the  ve- 
nom turned  against  those  who  know  that  the  living  God 
of  nature  and  Scripture  exists,  and  whom  both  books 
equally  reveal. 

In  the  same  manner  he  acknowledges  his  igorance  of 
Scripture.  Says  he,  "  To  read  the  Bible,  is  to  reject  it." 
He  need  not  have  informed  us  of  this  fact,  so  far  as  his 
reading  is  concerned,  for,  thus  far,  we  have  seen  that  in 
all  his  attempts  to  criticise  it,  he  was  profoundly  igno- 
rant of  every  passage  and  subject.  In  opposition  to  this 
we  may  say  that  to  read  and  study  the  Bible  according 
to  its  own  prescribed  rules,  is  to  understand  it  as  a  whole 
and  in  every  particular  part,  and  this  knowledge  demon- 
strates it  to  have  had  the  living  God,  who  made  the 
world,  as  its  author  ;  and  we  may  submit  whether  up  to 
this  point,  the  exposure  of  Ingersollism  does  not  vindi- 
cate such  an  assumption  ?  As,  therefore,  the  scoffer  has 
no  such  evidence,  he  can  have  no  rational  belief,  as 
such  belief  is  founded  upon  evidence  ;  and  thus  having 
no  understanding  of  its  scope  and  design,  he  can  have  no 
knowledge  of  the  Bible.  Then  how  can  it  be  expected 
that  such  a  mind  in  such  a  frame  should  see  anything  else 
in  any  passage  of  Scripture  but  .senseless  absurdity?  In 
view  of  which,  we  would  ask  our  readers  and  Mr.  Inger- 
soU's  readers.  What  is  his  opinion  of  any  ])assage  worth  ? 
Before  answering,  remember  that  he  confesses  there  is  no 
evidence  to  prove  the  Scripture  to  l)e  what  it  claims — 
the  inspired  Word  of  God.  'I'lie  book  of  Revelation, 
which  makes  known  the  coming  inij^ortant  events  of  the 
world,  l>efore  declared  to  tlie  prophets,  all  of  which  is 
known  to  be  that  of  jjrehistoric  and  historic  record  of  the 
four  universal  kingdoms,  in  their  successions,  divisions, 
and  subdivisions,  including  that  of  their  religions,  even 
down  to  the  present  day,  describing  and  identifying  them 
as  accurately  as  profane  history  records  them  :   these,  in 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONFOUNDED.        221 

his  ignorance  and  blasphemy,  the  scoffer  characterizes  as 
"  the  insane  ravings  of  the  lunatic  of  Patmos."  This  is 
a  specimen  of  the  modesty  he  learned  from  Satan,  his 
honored  schoolmaster. 

W/iy  Men  Love  God,  Incomprehensible  to  Ingersoll. 

IngersoU  does  not  see  how  a  sane  man  can  love  the 
God  who  could  have  done  or  proposes  to  do  such  things 
as  the  Bible  relates.  Not  understanding  the  narration  of 
any  of  those  things,  nor  the  objects  he  accomplished  or 
intends  to  accomplish  by  them,  he  sees  nothing  but  in- 
consistency in  loving  a  being  who  is  so  unlovely.  This 
ignorance  is  not  to  be  mitigated  on  his  part  by  the  plea 
of  necessity  ;  for  nothing  is  clearer  than  that  it  is  not  for 
the  want  of  mental  capacity  or  opportunity,  but  that  it  is 
wholly  wilful.  The  following  charge  illustrates  this.  He 
says  :  "  The  God  of  the  Bible  drowned  a  whole  world." 
That  is,  he  drowned  a  whole  generation  of  people  living 
at  a  particular  time.  But  had  he  been  an  honest  investi- 
gator and  seeker  for  truth,  he  would  have  observed  that 
the  God  of  nature,  even  if  it  is  nature  herself,  did  intro- 
duce, or  permitted  the  introduction,  at  some  period  of  the 
existence  of  mankind,  some  physical  derangement  into  her 
works  which  would  cause  the  death  of  the  two  hundred 
generations  of  mankind,  one-third  of  whom  have  been 
little  children.  This  god  Nature  thus  kills  and  gives  no 
reason  for  the  killing  ;  while  the  God  of  the  Bible  reveals 
both  the  object  and  necessity  for  the  introduction  of  uni- 
versal death,  especially  for  shortening  the  life  of  the  gen- 
eration by  the  flood. 

Now,  Mr.  Ingersoll,  let  us  expostulate  a  little  with  you 
and  ask,  why  you  should  fight  the  God  of  the  Bible  for 
thus  killing  a  single  generation,  and  adore  your  god 
Nature  who  has  killed  the  other  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  generations.  If  you  reject  the  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures  for  the  small  killing,  must  you  not  reject  the 
records  of  nature  for  the  great  killing,  and  then  tell  us 
that  you  don't  believe  in  Nature  because  he  kills  people, 
even  little  children,  or  deny  the  record  that  nature  kills 


222      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

anybody — in  fact,  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  nature  in 
existence — that  it  is  only  a  god  the  priests  have  made  ? 
Come,  now — "honor  bright!  "  Behold  the  marvellous 
wisdom  and  consistency  of  the  king  of  freethinkers  !  The 
most  advanced  atheistic  scientist  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury declares  he  has  no  knowledge  of  the  existence  of 
God — no  evidence  for  such  a  belief  !  See  what  a  great 
bluster  of  a  fight  against  the  God  whom  he  holds  to  be  a 
mere  phantom  of  the  imagination,  and  wishes  people  to 
believe  him  a  very  courageous  man  for  the  undertaking  ! 

How  can  a  man  who  is  professedly  ignorant  upon  a 
subject,  be  anything,  if  he  talks  about  it  at  all,  but  its 
burlesquer  ?  He  despises  a  God  whom  he  does  not  be- 
lieve exists  ;  he  defies  a  phantom  which  he  knows  cannot 
harm  him — brave  man  !  But  as  Ingersoll  is  the  repre- 
sentative freethinker  of  our  time,  and  whom  the  sceptical 
world  holds  as  a  kind  of  demi-god,  it  leaves  us  no  other 
alternative  than  that  of  stripping  every  vestige  of  reason 
for  the  veneration  from  the  shrine  of  their  idolatrous 
matter -god. 

The  Scoffer's  Defective  Metaphysics. 

He  says,  '■'  Man  has  no  ideas,  and  can  have  none,  except 
those  suggested  by  his  surroundings.  He  cannot  con- 
ceive of  anything  utterly  unlike  what  he  has  seen  or  felt. 
He  can  exaggerate,  diminish,  combine  separate,  deform, 
beautify,  improve,  multiply,  and  compare  what  he  sees, 
what  he  feels,  what  he  hears,  and  all  of  which  he  takes 
cognizance  through  the  medium  of  his  senses  ;  but  he 
cannot  create.  Having  seen  exhibitions  of  power,  he 
can  say  omnipotent.  Having  lived,  he  can  say  immor- 
tality." No,  sir  !  man  cannot  say  immortality  because 
he  lives,  for  all  the  life  he  has  seen  comes  to  an  end  ; 
therefore,  between  the  two  ideas,  mortality  and  immor- 
tality, there  is  no  comparison  possi])le  ;  and  immortality 
does  not  come  within  the  range  of  human  observation, 
which  is  limited  to  death  on  every  hand,  and  he  can  only 
say,  from  the  light  of  the  revelations  of  the  laws  of  nature, 
mortality  !   But  a  man  may  have  an  idea  of  immortahty, 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT  CONFOUNDED.        223 

even  a  knowledge  of  it,  as  the  result  of  logical  reasoning, 
thus  :  Man  lives  ;  a  living  being  must  have  caused  him  to 
live,  as  the  laws  of  his  own  being  gives  the  only  true 
definition  of  life,  making  it  consist  in  the  existence  of 
every  physiological  part  in  the  structure  of  the  body  essen- 
tial to  life  as  a  part  of  the  life  itself.  From  this  wonder- 
ful mechanical  involvement  man  may  infer  that  the  Being 
who  made  it  liable  to  death  is  able  to  remake  it  exempt 
from  such  liability — hence  he  can  say  immortality  ;  and 
his  Maker  has  given  this  revelation  in  another  book,  with 
that  also  for  which  he  made  the  world  itself — an  endless 
world  for  an  immortal  man.  In  order,  therefore,  that  a 
man  may  say  immortality,  as  designed  for  him  or  any 
one  else,  he  must  have  satisfied  himself  that  the  Author 
of  the  revealed  design  and  promises  is  the  Creator  of  nat- 
ure, and  his  own  nature,  as  none  other  would  be  able  to 
accomplish  the  work  ;  and  that  he  has  the  evidence  in  his 
own  mind,  which  enables  him  to  depend  upon  his  ability 
and  veracity  to  fulfil  them.  If  a  man  masters  and  com- 
plies with  these  conditions,  he  has  as  positive  knowledge 
upon  the  subject  as  upon  that  of  his  own  existence. 

Ingersoll  says,  ' '  Man  cannot  create,  or  have  any  idea  of 
anything  utterly  unlike  what  has  come  within  the  scope 
of  his  senses."  In  order  to  make  the  assertion  answer 
his  purpose,  it  is  necessary  to  show  that  as  man  has 
never  seen,  felt,  heard,  tasted,  or  smelt  God,  with  his 
bodily  senses,  therefore  there  is  no  God.  It  is  a  fact 
that  there  was  a  time  when  there  were  no  fire-arms, 
steam-engines,  electric  telegraphs,  and  ten  thousand  in- 
ventions, all  of  which  are  the  creations  of  man,  and  the 
first  of  each  was  utterly  unlike  anything  which  had  ever 
come  within  the  scope  of  human  sense.  According  to 
Ingersoll,  no  man  can  make  a  new  discovery  or  have  an 
original  idea;  he  can  only  imitate  what  he  has  seen. 
This  may  be  true  of  him,  and  is  so  upon  the  subjects  of 
his  infidel  lectures  ;  and  we  must  allow  every  man  to 
know  what  he  does  not  know,  or  that  he  knows  of  what 
he  is  ignorant ;  and  charity  should  concede  that  what  a 
man  announces  as  a  fact  of  his  own  experience,  is  hon- 
est ;   hence  Ingersoll  knows  nothing  utterly  unlike  that  of 


224      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

which  his  own  senses  have  been  cognizant ;  the  sequence 
of  which  is,  that  he  never  had  an  original  thought  or  idea, 
and  this  is  the  hmitation  of  his  intelhgence  ;  or  he  must 
logically  know  things  which  have  never  been  tested  by 
his  own  senses — such  as  the  existence  of  a  living  God, 
and  that  he  is  the  Creator  of  the  world.  If  he  was  a  man 
of  thought  and  reason,  the  result  of  a  logical  mind,  he 
would  reason  from  the  known  to  the  unknown — the  uni- 
versal law  of  mental  philosophy — and  the  conclusions 
would  not  be  the  rant  of  agnosticism,  but  the  positive 
knowledge  of  a  man,  seen  by  the  eye  of  the  mind,  just 
the  same  as  though  started  by  images  struck  upon  the 
retina  of  the  eye.  In  confirmation  of  this  limitation  of 
ideas  in  the  mind  of  Ingersoll,  we  have  the  fact  that  a 
hundred  years  before  he  was  born,  everything  he  says  . 
about  God  and  the  Bible  was  substantially  said  and  writ- 
ten ;  so  that  his  supposed  progress,  at  the  head  of  the 
boasting  freethinkers,  runs  backward. 

He  says,  "  Knowing  something  of  time,  man  can  say 
eternity."  No,  sir  !  he  cannot  say  eternity  so  as  to  have 
a  sensible  idea  of  it,  for  an  idea  or  even  an  inference  can 
only  be  obtained  by  comparison,  and  the  two  things  so 
utterly  unlike  as  time  and  eternity,  bearing  no  proportion 
to  each  other,  cannot  be  compared.  He  says,  "  Conceiv- 
ing something  of  intelligence,  man  can  say  God."  But 
Ingersoll  cannot  thus  say  God,  because,  by  his  own  con- 
fession, he  has  not  intelligence  enough  to  know  that 
there  is  one.  He  says,  "  Having  seen  exhibitions  of  ma- 
lice, man  can  say  devil."  But  he  cannot  say  or  infer 
the  existence  of  a  devil  from  that  of  malice  ;  for  he  him- 
self manifests  more  malice,  and  that,  too,  toward  his  God 
and  Creator,  than  the  devil  ever  did  or  dared  to  do ;  be- 
sides he  is  too  ignorant  of  the  Scriptures  to  know  their 
statements  to  be  true  as  to  the  existence  of  the  devil,  and 
therefore  the  exhibition  of  no  amount  of  malice  can  give 
him  the  idea  of  a  devil.  He  says,  "A  few  gleams  of 
happiness  having  fallen  athwart  the  gloom  of  his  life,  man 
can  say  heaven."  -Well,  whatever  any  other  man  can 
say  about  heaven  or  happiness  hereafter,  he  has  no  surli 
prospect,  for  he  is  too  ignorant  of  the  Scriptures  to  know 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONFOUNDED.        225 

there  is  or  ever  will  be  a  heaven  of  happiness,  and  he 
cannot  infer  it  from  the  present  life  of  man,  as  the  sources 
of  misery  vastly  exceed  those  of  happiness,  which  indicate 
future  misery,  if  anything ;  and  if,  as  he  says,  all  the  gods 
are  worse  than  devils,  they  certainly  can  have  no  motive 
for  making  men  happy  hereafter.  What  a  dreadful  plight 
does  Mr.  Ingersoll's  philosophy  involve  !  These  are  the 
lessons  of  wisdom  his  schoolmaster  the  devil  has  taught 
him.     Who  would  pay  for  such  learning  ? 

The  Scoffer' s  Bad  Logic. 

He  says  :  * '  The  superstructure  has  been  reared,  com- 
bining, separating,  diminishing,  beautifying,  improving, 
and  multiplying  realities,  so  that  the  edifice  or  fabric  is 
but  the  incongruous  grouping  of  what  man  has  conceived 
through  the  medium  of  his  senses.  It  is  as  though  we 
should  give  a  lion  the  wings  of  an  eagle,  the  hoofs  of  a 
bison,  the  tail  of  the  horse,  the  pouch  of  the  kangaroo, 
and  the  trunk  of  the  elephant.  We  have  in  imagination 
created  an  impossible  monster,  and  yet  the  various  parts 
of  this  monster  really  exist.  So  it  is  with  all  the  gods 
that  man  has  made."  Here  we  have  Mr.  Ingersoll's 
conception  of  God,  and  all  the  gods,  in  the  form  of  an 
illustrated  conclusion.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
among  all  the  gods,  with  whom  Ingersoll  blasphemously 
includes  the  living  God  of  the  Scriptures — in  fact,  this 
seems  to  be  the  only  God  that  calls  forth  his  bitter  ani- 
mosity— it  must  also  be  remembered  that  in  this  man's 
estimation  there  are  no  gods  except  those  which  men 
have  made,  and  the  making  is  nothing  but  an  imaginative 
manufacture.  As,  therefore,  there  is  no  God  within  this 
man's  conception,  or  he  has  no  idea  of  a  god,  and  as  it 
is  impossible  to  illustrate  no  idea,  he  gives  us  this  incon- 
gruous attempt  to  do  an  impossibility,  producing  the 
monster  representative  of  his  conceptionless  talk  ;  and  sup- 
poses that  if  all  the  named  features  of  these  animals  be- 
longed to  a  single  one,  that  would  fitly  represent  all  the 
ideas  mankind  have  ever  entertained  of  God.  A  man 
may  attempt  to  illustrate  his  own  ignorant  notions  of 


226      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

God  ;  but  if  he  has  no  idea  of  the  existence  of  a  hving 
God,  then  how  can  he  with  any  sense  make  even  this 
incongruous  attempt  ?  and  how  much  more  ridiculous 
that  he  should  assume  it  to  illustrate  all  the  ideas  man- 
kind have  entertained  respecting  God  ?  Is  it  not  also 
absurd  to  suppose  that  the  Being  who  made  all  these  ani- 
mals, with  their  peculiar  features,  could  not  have  com- 
bined them  in  a  single  one?  and  had  it  been  a  domestic 
animal  .of  common  observation,  would  it  have  been  a 
monster  ?  Besides,  the  illustration  concentrates  all  the 
gods  in  one,  and  this  shows  the  scoffer  aims  his  weapons, 
such  as  they  are,  at  the  single  God  of  holy  Scripture  ;  and 
to  crown  the  silly  effort  he  acknowledges  all  through  his 
sayings  that  he  does  not  know  or  believe  there  is  any  liv- 
ing God  in  the  universe  ;  and  because  he  is  thus  ignorant, 
concludes  all  men  are  in  the  same  category.  Here  is  the 
king  of  the  self-styled  freethinkers,  who  makes  war  upon 
God,  on  the  alleged  ground  that  he  calls  on  him  to  sacri- 
fice his  reason.  But  if  he  should  do  even  this,  would  it 
be  much  of  an  oblation  ? 

The  scoffer  says  :  ''  Pain,  in  its  numberless  forms, 
having  been  experienced,  man  can  say  hell."  Not 
knowing  the  Bible,  which  teaches  there  is  a  hell  or  is  to 
be  one,  of  course  he  does  not  know  or  believe  anything 
about  it ;  and  being  thus  ignorant,  he  considers  all  opin- 
ions about  hell  as  imaginary  as  his  own,  as  it  requires 
knowledge  in  one  mind  to  appreciate  it  in  another;  and 
though  it  puts  him  and  the  freethinkers  in  contradiction 
to  all  the  intelligence  of  the  world  in  their  estimate  of  the 
science  and  philosophy  of  God,  heaven,  and  hell,  enter- 
tained by  the  scholars  of  the  ages,  as  eciually  ignorant 
with  themselves  ;  and  everybody  understands  by  the  sense- 
less manner  in  which  their  chief  talks  about  tliese  sub- 
jects that  he  has  no  evidence  for  the  belief  of  the  exist- 
ence of  any  being  in  the  universe  higher  or  greater  than 
himself,  who  must  therefore  be  as  devoid  of  any  reason 
for  his  own  existence  or  object  proposed  by  it. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

WHY    INGERSOLL    IS    POPULAR. 

In  order  to  appear  to  be  original,  IngersoU  puts  the  old, 
stale  witticisms  and  atheistic  phrases  in  something  of  a 
new  dress  ;  but  there  never  was  a  public  sceptic  who 
reasoned  so  little  and  used  less  argument  against  God  and 
the  Bible  ;  but  even  on  this  account  his  lectures  are  pop- 
ular in  our  age,  in  which  it  is  painfully  true  that  not  only 
the  young  people,  but  their  parents  are  not  distinguished 
for  thought.  It  is  a  fact  that  they  are  great  readers, 
though  the  reading  is  mostly  that  of  newspapers  and  light 
literature,  while  the  historic  and  philosophic  literature  of 
the  ages  lies  like  buried  rubbish  upon  the  shelves,  if  it  is 
there  at  all.  He  says  :  ^'  Some  nations  have  borrowed 
their  gods  [we  have  just  heard  him  declare  as  a  fact  that 
each  nation  made  its  own  gods  ;  but  now  this  is  not  a 
fact].  Of  this  number,  we  are  compelled  to  say,  is  our 
own.  The  Jews  having  ceased  to  exist  as  a  nation,  and 
having  no  further  use  for  a  god,  our  ancestors  appropri- 
ated him,  and  adopted  their  devil  at  the  same  time.  [A 
funny  blasphemy.]  This  borrowed  god  is  still  an  object 
of  some  adoration,  and  the  adopted  devil  still  exists  and 
excites  the  apprehensions  of  our  people."  [His  people 
must  be  those  like  him  ;  but  the  devil  does  not  excite 
their  apprehensions,  as  they  are  ignorant  of  his  existence, 
and  to  excite  their  apprehensions  might  lead  them  to  flee 
his  company  and  escape  his  doom.]  He  is  still  supposed 
to  be  setting  traps  and  snares  for  the  purpose  of  catching 
our  unwary  souls,  and  is  still,  with  reasonable  success, 
waging  the  old  war  against  our  God."  The  very  latest 
trap  set  by  the  devil  is  to  make  men  believe  he  has  no 
existence,  and  into  this  trap  IngersoU  has  fallen  head- 
long.    So  pleased  is  his  satanic  majesty  with  the  capture, 


228      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

that  he  has  made  him  chief  agent,  proclaiming  through 
the  country  the  paradox,  "  My  master  has  no  existence 
— the  great  har  of  Eden  is  dead,  so  that  you,  my  people, 
need  have  no  fears  of  my  traps  and  snares."  It  would 
not  only  be  ungrateful,  but  foolishness,  for  the  devil  to 
wage  war  upon  his  own  faithful  children,  ignorant  of 
the  famous  truism,  ''  A  house  divided  against  itself  can- 
not stand  ;  "  and  there  is  but  one  God  against  whom  the 
devil  makes  war — all  others  are  on  his  side,  as  Ingersoll 
claims  for  his  confederates.  The  book  that  knows  about 
this  parent  and  his  children,  says  :  "  Who  are  led  captive 
by  Satan  at  his  will." 

This  Wiseacre  says  :  "  To  me  it  seems  easy  to  account 
for  these  ideas  concerning  gods  and  devils.  They  are  a 
perfectly  natural  production  :  man  has  created  them  all." 
We  have  shown  that  God  made  the  devil  an  angel,  and 
he  made  himself  a  devil  ;  and  having  lived  six  thousand 
years,  he  knows  well  enough  how  to  lay  snares  to  catch 
such  simpletons  as  those  who  know  nothing  about  him. 
In  contrast  to  such,  those  who  do  know  about  him  are 
addressed  in  such  language  as  the  following:  ''Lest 
Satan  should  get  an  advantage  of  us  :  for  we  are  not  igno- 
rant of  his  devices."  (2  Cor.  2  :  11.)  So,  Mr.  Inger- 
soll,  keej)  it  ringing  in  the  ears  of  your  people:  "Man 
has  created  all  the  gods  and  all  the  devils,"  though  you 
have  just  said,  "  Man  cannot  create  anything."  What  a 
foolish  thing  a  man  is  to  create  devils  to  lay  snares  and 
tra])s  to  catch  his  soul  and  fill  him  continually  with  ap- 
l)rehension,  and  also  to  make  gods  to  punish  himself  for 
serving  another  one  of  his  creatures  !  Of  course  Ingersoll 
knows  nothing  about  living  gods  or  devils,  so  has  his 
master  blinded  his  mind,  and  so  does  he  keep  the  tongue 
of  a  thoughtless  brain  in  locomotion. 

The  Scoffer  Claims  Orio[i?}alify  for  One  Thought. 

He  says,  "  Man  has  not  only  created  these  gods  and 
devils ;  but  he  has  created  them  out  of  the  materials  by 
which  he  has  been  surrounded."  This  unknown  God 
to  him,  says,  *'To  whom,   then,  will  ye  liken  God  ?  or 


WHY   INGERSOLL  IS  POPULAR.  229 

what  likeness  will  ye  compare  unto  him  ?  The  workman 
melteth  a  graven  image,  and  the  goldsmith  spreadeth  it 
over  with  gold,  and  casteth  silver  chains.  He  that  is 
impoverished  that  he  hath  no  oblation,  chooseth  a 
tree  that  will  not  rot ;  he  seeketh  a  cunning  workman 
to  prepare  a  graven  image,  that  shall  not  be  moved. 
They  that  make  a  graven  image  are  vanity,  and  their 
delectable  things  shall  not  profit,  and  they  are  their  own 
witnesses  ;  they  see  not,  nor  know ;  that  they  may  be 
ashamed.  Who  hath  formed  a  god  that  is  profitable 
for  anything  ?  Behold,  all  the  fellows  shall  be  ashamed 
together.  The  smith  with  his  tongs,  worketh  in  the 
coals,  and  fashioneth  it  with  hammers,  and  worketh  it 
with  the  strength  of  his  arms  ;  the  carpenter  stretcheth 
out  his  rule ;  he  marketh  it  out  with  a  line  and  with  a 
compass,  and  maketh  it  after  the  figure  of  a  man,  accord- 
ing to  the  beauty  of  a  man  ;  that  it  may  remain  in  the 
house.  He  burneth  part  thereof  in  the  fire  [part  of  the 
material,  the  chips  whereof  he  is  surrounded].  With 
part  thereof  he  roasteth  a  roast,  and  is  satisfied  ;  yea,  he 
warmeth  himself;  and  saith,  Aha,  I  am  warm,  I  have  seen 
the  fire  ;  and  with  the  residue  thereof  he  maketh  a  god  ; 
and  falleth  down  and  worshippeth  it,  and  prayeth  unto  it, 
and  saith.  Deliver  me ;  for  thou  art  my  god. 

''  They  have  not  known  me  [the  hving  God],  nor  un- 
derstood ;  for  he  hath  shut  their  eyes  [because  they  love 
darkness  rather  than  light,  and  because  their  deeds  are 
evil]  and  their  hearts,  that  they  cannot  understand." 
(Isa.  40  and  44.)  "  But  is  there  a  God  beside  me  ?  yea, 
there  is  no  God;  I  know  not  any."  Thus  did  the 
people  create  gods,  and  out  of  the  material  with  which 
they  were  surrounded  ;  and  Ingersoll  should  have  given 
the  Scriptures  credit  for  the  quotation,  and  not  have 
said,  "  It  seems  perfectly  natural  to  me  that  the  people 
made  all  the  gods  and  devils,"  as  though  he  had  arrived 
at  this  conclusion  by  his  own  reasoning. 

But  Ingersoll,  either  ignorantly  or  designedly,  over- 
looks a  most  prominent  fact  in  this  mythological  history, 
namely,  that  these  god-makers  believed  in  the  existence  of 
but  one  living  and  supreme  God,  and  that  the  gods  they 


230     CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

made  were  but  symbols  to  put  them  in  remembrance  of 
him  ;  and  we  defy  this  iconoclastic  upstart  of  a  god-slayer 
and  degrader,  to  produce  a  single  testimony  from  the 
idolatrous  priests  or  those  who  practised  its  rites,  who 
claimed  that  there  were  no  gods  or  God  superior  to  those 
they  themselves  made,  or  that  any  of  these  were  alive,  or 
that  they  did  not  claim  there  was  one  supreme  living 
God  !  Again  he  says,  "  Each  nation  made  its  own  gods 
and  devils,  who  not  only  speak  its  language,  but  put  in 
their  mouths  the  same  mistakes  in  history,  geography, 
astronomy,  and  in  all  matters  of  fact,  generally  made  by 
the  people.  No  god  was  ever  in  advance  of  the  people 
or  nation  that  created  him."  What  a  foolish  thing  is  this 
to  say,  when  we  have  just  seen  how  the  mechanics,  as  he 
says,  made  the  gods  out  of  the  material  that  surrounded 
them,  and  that  the  gods  so  made  never  made  a  mistake. 
How  can  a  piece  of  carved  wood  or  metal  make  a  mis- 
take. He  means  this  fling  for  the  God  of  Scripture ; 
but  we  have  seen  that  all  Ingersoll's  supposed  mistakes  of 
Moses  or  Genesis  are  to  be  credited  to  the  false  and 
foolish  so-called  science  of  the  atheistic  evolution  and 
chronological  geology,  and  that  the  statements  of  the 
Scriptures,  touching  the  origin  of  the  world  and  its  in- 
habitants, are  philosophic  and  astronomic  necessities ; 
that  is,  that  if  no  account  had  ever  been  written  of  that 
work,  what  we  know  now  of  science  demands  that  it 
should  be  written  in  exact  accordance  with  Scripture 
statements  ! 

He  says:  ''The  negroes  represented  their  gods  with 
black  skins  and  curly  hair.  The  Mongolian  gave  to  his 
a  yellow  complexion  and  dark,  almond  -  shaped  eyes. 
The  Jews  were  not  allowed  to  paint  theirs  or  we  should 
have  seen  Jehovah  gods  with  a  full  beard  and  oval 
nose."  See  how  the  arch-scoff'er  goes  out  of  his  way  to 
give  vent  to  the  infamous  venom  of  his  heart  against 
God  !  No,  here  is  your  lying  blasphemy ;  for  you  have 
seen  the  record  of  their  idolatrous  gods  in  the  shape  of  a 
golden  calf,  or  a  pile  of  stones,  which  the  Jews  made  and 
worshii)ped.  See  how  he  attempts  to  degrade  the  living 
God,  by  such  association  as  this:    ''Zeus  was  a  i)erfect 


WHY  INGERSOLL  IS  POPULAR.  23 1 

Greek,  and  Jove  looked  as  though  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Roman  Senate.  The  gods  of  Egypt  had  the  painted 
face  and  placid  look  of  the  living  people  who  made 
them.  The  gods  of  northern  countries  were  represented 
warmly  clad  in  robes  of  fur ;  those  of  the  tropics  were 
naked.  [It  is  not  true  that  they  thus  represented  the 
people,  for  there  is  not  an  uncivilized  race  on  the  earth, 
or  ever  was  one  of  which  there  is  authentic  history,  who 
went,  or  go,  naked.]  The  gods  of  India  were  often 
mounted  on  elephants ;  those  of  some  islands  were  great 
swimmers.  [How  could  an  image-god  represent  a  great 
swimmer  ?  The  fact  is  Ingersoll  is  fixing  up  the  god- 
picture  to  suit  his  purpose  in  names,  color,  and  shape  of 
the  gods  manufactured  by  his  own  imagination  and  that 
of  his  freethinking  confederates.]  The  deities  of  the 
Arctic  zone  were  passionately  fond  of  blubber.  [How 
could  a  god  in  the  shape  of  man  represent  an  appetite  ? 
He  wanted  to  say  something  funny,  and  calls  that  about 
the  blubber  a  fact.]  Nearly  all  people  have  carved  or 
painted  representatives  of  their  gods,  and  these  represen- 
tatives were,  by  the  lower  classes,  treated  as  the  real 
gods,  and  to  these  images  and  idols  they  addressed 
prayers  and  offered  sacrifices."  The  scoffer  is  here  un- 
wittingly led  into  a  correct  statement,  that  the  people 
generally  came  to  worship  these  idols  as  the  real  gods, 
with  the  exception  that  he  should  have  said  '^  the  real 
God,"  and  this  before  they  became  mentally  degraded  to 
the  level  of  the  freethinkers  who  reject  his  existence,  and 
morally  desire  to  have  it  so,  and  worship  the  symbol-god 
as  the  real.  The  existence  of  an  idol- god  cannot  be 
reasonably  accounted  for,  but  as  implying  the  prior  ex- 
istence of  a  living  God. 

Idolatry  Proves  the  Existence  of  a  Living  God. 

It  is  evident  that  Ingersoll  uses  these  universally  exist- 
ing gods  to  prove  there  is  no  real  God.  A  more  absurd 
effort  could  scarcely  have  entered  an  uninfatuated  mind. 
All  these  gods  were  representative.  Representatives  ne- 
cessitate   something   to    be   represented,    and    the   god- 


233      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

representative  could  not  have  been  the  god  represented  ; 
consequently  representative  gods  prove  the  existence  of  a 
real  god  represented.  If  all  the  gods  of  nations  and  in- 
dividuals were  in  character  representative,  which  fact  is 
historically  notorious,  not  even  questioned  by  IngersoU 
himself,  then  there  is  one  God  all  these  represented  and 
represent,  and  the  testimony  of  all  the  gods  at  once 
demonstrates  the  truth  of  our  position.  The  conception 
of  God,  entertained  by  the  image  god-makers,  as  shown 
by  the  names,  structure,  and  adornment  of  the  idols,  was 
that  they  possessed  unlimited  wisdom  and  knowledge, 
omnipotent  power,  justice,  goodness,  love,  hate,  and 
mercy  to  the  penitent  ;  but  who  would  in  nowise  spare 
the  stubborn  guilty.  These  intellectual  and  moral 
attributes  it  is  impossible  to  have  conceived  as  belong- 
ing to  any  but  a  living,  personal  God,  and  this  is  the 
God  of  nature,  as  the  idolators  saw  him  revealed  in  their 
own,  the  workman  in  the  work,  as  well  as  in  the 
bounties  of  inanimate  nature  for  man's  support  and 
pleasure.  That  such  is  the  God  of  Scripture  revelation, 
exhibits  the  sublime  harmony  of  truth  for  the  contempla- 
tion of  all  sentient  beings.  If  it  should  be  asked.  Why, 
then,  is  the  practice  of  image-making  and  worship  for- 
bidden in  the  Scriptures?  we  answer,  Because  of  their 
tendency  to  divide  the  worshi})  between  the  image  and 
the  living  God.  But  instead  of  idolatry  making  atheists, 
no  god  at  all,  it  made  polytheists — 'Mords  many  and 
gods  many  " — while  freethinkerism  makes  the  gods  repre- 
sentatives, but  no  god  represented. 

We  have  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  one  branch 
of  which  is  composed  of  representatives  chosen  by  the 
people ;  but  Ingersoll's  logic  says  there  is  no  people 
they  represent.  What,  however,  he  fails  to  do  logically 
he  attempts  by  sophistry  :  ''  The  gods,"  says  he,  '*  repre- 
sented the  conception,  the  ideal  of  the  people."  To  dis- 
lodge him  from  this  attemjit  at  further  deception,  we 
may  say  that  a  man  can  have  no  conception  or  idea  of  a 
thing  of  which  he  has  no  reasonable  knowledge,  or  of 
which  he  is  totally  ignorant,  and  he  must  be  totally 
ignorant    of  that   which  does  not  exist.     If,   therefore. 


WHY  INGERSOLL  IS   POPULAR.  233 

there  is  no  God,  he  cannot  have  a  representative  or 
symbol.  Ideas  or  conceptions  originate  by  observing 
and  comparing  things  which  come  within  the  range  of 
our  senses,  or  from  their  description  given  by  others, 
from  which  it  follows  that  if  there  were  no  things  there 
would  be  no  ideas,  or  conceptions,  as  we  can  have  no 
idea  or  conception  of  nothing,  other  than  that  of  non- 
existence. Hence,  ideas  or  conceptions  of  God  depend 
upon  and  prove  the  existence  of  a  living,  personal,  intelli- 
gent God,  the  Creator  of  nature.  Here  again  we  see 
IngersoU's  specious  sophistry  and  spurious  logic. 

Origin  of  hnage-worship  Natural. 

How  natural  were  the  existence  of  these  traditions  and 
universal  conceptions  and  idol-god  representations  !  God 
made  the  first  pair  of  mankind  in  his  own  image,  and 
after  his  own  likeness,  and  these  precise  words  are  defined 
in  describing  the  form  of  the  third  man  born  into  the 
world,  thus:  '^  And  Adam  lived  an  hundred  and  thirty 
years,  and  begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  own 
image:  and  called  his  name  Seth."  (Gen.  5:3.)  As 
Seth  was  in  the  form,  likeness,  and  image  of  liis  father 
Adam,  so  was  Adam  in  the  form,  likeness,  and  image  of 
his  father  God.  That  this  was  a  personal  image  or  form, 
is  corroborated  thus  :  ''  Who  [the  son  of  God]  being 
the  brightness  of  his  [God's]  glory,  and  the  express  image 
of  his  person.'^  (Heb.  i:  3.)  And  this  Son  in  the 
form  of  God  "was  found  in  fashion  as  a  man."  (Phil. 
2  :  6,  8.)  In  the  beginning  the  first  pair  of  the  hu- 
man species  must  have  had  a  personal  acquaintance  with 
their  father  God,  as  their  children  had  with  themselves. 
From  this  centre  the  human  family  spread  over  the 
earth,  but  having  no  books,  and  wishing  to  retain  and 
transmit  their  knowledge  of  God's  person,  and  object 
of  the  worship  he  imposed,  they  made  images  like  them- 
selves, and  therefore  like  their  Maker.  As  corrupt  as 
were  the  antediluvians,  they  are  not  charged  with  the  sin 
of  idolatry  ;  but  after  the  flood,  the  practice  being  forbid- 
den in  the  Scriptures  shows  its  existence.     Thus  is  In- 

\fm  mmiim  mm  mm 


234      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

gersoll  without  the  least  defence  for  wickedly  confounding 
the  living  God  with  the  men -made  gods  of  idol-worship  ; 
but  of  this  Being,  by  his  own  confession,  he  knows  noth- 
ing, and  has  consequently  no  idea  or  conception  of  him. 
For  his  enlightenment  and  that  of  this  class  we  copy  their 
picture,  drawn  by  the  dictation  of  the  God  who  knows 
them,  if  they  do  not  know  him  :  "  For  there  are  certain 
men  crept  in  unawares,  who  were  before  of  old  ordained 
to  this  condemnation  [they  were  not  ordained  to  do  the 
diabolical  work,  but  were  condemned  for  doing  it],  un- 
godly men,  turning  the  grace  of  God  into  lasciviousness, 
and  denying  the  only  Lord  God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Likewise  also  these  filthy  dreamers  defile  the 
flesh,  despise  dominion,  and  speak  evil  of  dignities  [even 
of  the  great  God  and  his  dominion].  But  these  speak 
evil  of  those  things  which  they  know  not ;  but  what  they 
know  naturally  as  brute  beasts,  in  those  things  they  cor- 
rupt themselves.  Woe  unto  them  !  for  they  have  gone  in 
the  way  of  Cain,  and  ran  greedily  after  the  error  of  Ba- 
laam for  reward,  and  perished  in  the  gainsaying  of  Core. 
Clouds  they  are  without  water,  carried  about  of  winds ; 
trees  whose  fruit  withereth,  without  fruit,  twice  dead, 
plucked  up  by  the  roots  ;  raging  waves  of  the  sea,  foam- 
ing out  their  own  shame  ;  wandering  stars  to  whom  is 
reserved  the  blackness  of  darkness  forever."  (Jude.)  The 
error  of  Balaam  was  that  he  wanted  to  curse  the  children 
of  God  for  money,  so  that  they  might  become  an  easy 
prey  to  their  enemies ;  while  Ingersoll  and  his  class  not 
only  curse  the  children  of  God,  but  God  himself,  and 
for  the  greedy  reward  of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness 
— the  god  they  worship,  and  which  is  the  most  sordid  and 
degraded  god  before  whose  shrine  human  beings  ever 
prostrated  themselves.  The  scoffer  says  :  "■  The  Chris- 
tians now  claim  that  Jesus  is  God.  [Yes  !  and  they  always 
did  claim  that  Jesus  was  God  ;  but  because  the  scejjtics 
of  our  day  deny  this,  it  necessitates  its  prominent  defence  ; 
and  his  ignorance  even  of  this  history  leads  him  as  here 
to  suppose  it  to  be  a  new  doctrine.]  If  he  was  God, 
[he  also  says]  of  course  the  devil  knew  that  fact,  and 
yet,  according  to  the  account,  the  devil  took  the  omnip- 


WHY  INGERSOLL  IS  POPULAR.  235 

otent  God  and  placed  him  upon  the  pinacle  of  the 
temple,  and  endeavored  to  induce  him  to  dash  himself 
against  the  earth.  Failing  in  that,  he  took  the  creator, 
owner,  and  governor  of  the  universe  up  into  an  exceeding 
high  mountain,  and  offered  him  this  world,  this  grain  of 
sand,  if  the  god  of  all  the  worlds  would  fall  down  and 
worship  him,  a  poor  devil,  without  even  a  tax-title  to  one 
foot  of  dirt.  [We  have  seen  that  in  this  lecture  Inger- 
soll  thanks  the  devil  for  teaching  him  all  he  knows  and 
for  all  the  liberty  he  enjoys,  but  see  how  disparagingly  he 
here  talks  about  his  devil  friend  and  benefactor  !]  Is  it 
possible  the  devil  was  an  idiot  ?  Should  any  great  credit 
be  given  to  this  deity  for  not  being  caught  with  chaff? 
Think  of  it  !  The  devil,  the  prince  of  sharpers,  the 
king  of  cunning,  the  master  of  fitness,  trying  to  bribe 
God  with  a  grain  of  sand  that  belonged  to  God  !  [Was 
the  devil  so  much  of  an  idiot  and  fool  as  this  scoffer,  who 
makes  public  war  upon  God  himself?]  Is  there  in  all 
the  literature  of  the  world  anything  more  grossly  absurd 
than  this?" 

There  is  nothing  ever  said,  either  by  God  or  man, 
which  may  not  be  made  to  appear  inconsistent  by  ridi- 
cule ;  in  consequence  of  which  it  is  generally  conceded 
that  nothing  sacred  should  be  made  a  subject  of  ridicule, 
and  it  is  generally  apparent  that  when  a  man  has  recourse 
to  ridicule  he  has  no  reason  or  argument  for  what  he  is 
attempting  to  teach.  Knowing  nothing  of  the  teaching 
of  Scripture,  about  God,  Christ,  or  the  devil,  but  still  talk- 
ing roughly  upon  the  subjects,  of  course  he  says  senseless 
things,  and  then  draws  his  famous  conclusion  by  asking  if 
anything  was  ever  more  absurd  ?  If  he  knew  enough 
about  these  things,  which  he  might  learn  from  the  Scrip- 
tures and  the  philosophy  of  intelligent  being,  he  would 
know  that  the  devil,  being  a  creature,  only  knows  what 
he  learns,  and  foreknows  nothing  ;  hence  that  he  is  disap- 
pointed and  defeated  every  time  he  tempts  another  to  do  a 
thing  and  fails,  thereby  exposing  his  ignorant  calculation. 
And  in  this  case,  to  make  the  account  of  Christ's  tempta- 
tion in  the  wilderness  appear  ridiculous,  IngersoU  ig- 
norantly  assumes  that  the  devil  knew  all  about  Christ, 


236      CONFLICT   OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

that  he  was  God,  etc.  :  ''If  Jesus  was  God,  of  course  the 
devil  knew  that  fact."  But  this  effort  of  the  devil  was  to 
ascertain  who  Christ  was,  and  this  effort,  Mr.  Ingersoll, 
relieves  these  acts  of  the  devil  of  all  absurdity  in  the 
transaction,  and  credits  them  to  your  account,  exposing 
the  foolishness  and  arrogance  of  your  effort  in  setting  up 
this  straw-devil,  to  have  the  honor  of  his  demolition. 

CJirisf  s  Tonptation  Free  from  all  Incongruity. 

Some  of  the  facts  and  the  philosophy  of  the  temptation 
of  Christ  by  the  devil  in  the  wilderness  are  as  follows : 

1.  Jesus  Christ  was  made  of  a  woman,  as  truly  as  Eve 
was  made  of  Adam,  and  by  God  the  Creator.  There 
was  some  difference  in  the  manner  ;  but  so  far  both  were 
creatures. 

2.  The  life  of  that  which  was  born  of  Mary,  or,  as 
Paul  expresses  it,  "  made  of  a  woman,"  was  a  natural, 
mortal  life,  the  demonstration  of  which  was  the  fact 
that  Jesus  Christ  died ;  but  God  was  not  born  or  made, 
nor  did  he  die,  and  this  was  not  even  the  body  of  God 
while  it  hung  dead  on  the  cross,  except  in  the  predestina- 
tion that  he  was  to  take  it  again. 

3.  This  life  being  mortal,  was  never  taken  again,  but 
was  made  a  sacrificial  offering  to  show  his  love  for  men, 
that  he  might  thus  win  them  to  become  his  friends.  Had 
God  taken  the  mortal  life  again,  it  would  still  have  been 
subject  to  death,  and  that  which  is  subject  to  death  must 
at  .some  time  die. 

4.  That  God  had  been  preparing  a  human  body  for 
himself  for  the  space  of  thirty-three  and  a  half  years,  and 
had  lived  in  it  during  that  time,  but  forsook  it  while  it 
hung  on  the  cross. 

5.  While  it  lay  dead  in  the  grave,  God,  as  he  was  be- 
fore making  it  for  himself  of  the  woman,  invested,  incar- 
nated, or  Immanuelized  himself  with  it  the  second  time, 
which  act  raised  it  from  the  dead,  and  whose  life  from 
thenceforth  became  the  life  of  the  Immanuel-man-God, 
before  which  in  decree,  type,  and  prophesy  he  had  been 
all  these,  but  now  in  fact  in  history.     Now  it  could  be 


WHY   INGERSOLL   IS    POPULAR.  237 

declared  and  interpreted  by  the  angel  Gabriel:  "This 
Jesus  that  is  born  this  day  in  Bethlehem,  the  city  of 
David,  is  Immaniiel,  God  with  us  "  [God  with  our  nat- 
ure] ;  and  by  Paul :  ''In  him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of 
the  Godhead  bodily."     (Col.  2:   9.) 

Here  were  two  distinct  living  forms  of  being.  A  man 
in  every  respect  human — ''  in  all  points  tempted  like  as 
we  are,  and  being  so  tempted,  he  knows  how  to  succor 
them  that  are  tempted."  (Heb.  4  :  15  and  2  :  18.)  It 
was  not  God  as  he  was  before  this  birth  of  the  Son  of 
Man  who  was  thus  tempted  ;  hence  it  is  written  :  "  Let 
no  man  say  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God  : 
for  God  cannot  be  tempted  with  evil  [and  this  tempta- 
tion was  with  the  evil  of  idol-devil  worship],  neither 
tempteth  he  [thus]  any  man."  (James  i  :  13.)  The 
prophet  anticipating  this  transaction,  and  personating 
God  thus  in  human  form,  exclaims :  "A  body  hast  thou 
prepared  for  me."  And  again  :  ''  When  he  bringeth  in 
his  first-begotten  into  the  world  [not  from  another  world, 
but  into  existence,  born  of  a  woman,  born  into  life],  he 
saith.  Let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him.  And  unto 
the  Son  he  saith,  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and 
ever  :  a  sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  king- 
dom." Here  was  the  same  lying  devil  who  had  cun- 
ningly deceived  the  first  Adam,  telling  him  that  if  he 
would  obey  him  he  would  become  a  god,  be  wise,  and 
not  die.  And  now  the  second  Adam  comes  into  the 
world,  and  the  devil  makes  the  same  kind  of  effort  to 
induce  him  to  disobey  the  Creator,  and  obey  him.  This 
Adam,  however,  is  his  master,  and  gives  the  devil  every 
opportunity,  going  with  him  wherever  he  proposes,  and 
wherein  he  had  every  advantage ;  but  after  all  his  pre- 
sumption and  lying  insinuations  is  completely  foiled  and 
vanquished,  and  leaves  his  Lord  and  God,  whom  alone  it 
was  his  duty  to  worship,  a  wiser  devil  than  he  was  before  ; 
and  immediately  angels — his  angels — came  and  ministered 
unto  him.  Christ  quoted  Scripture  prediction  of  the 
temptation  to  the  devil,  thus  :  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Sa- 
tan :  for  it  is  written.  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy 
God."    ^'  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him 


23^      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

only  shalt  thou  serve."  And  we  learn  from  this  Script- 
ure that  no  matter  how  much  any  of  God's  creatures 
have  degraded  themselves,  or  how  long  he  has  been  a 
sinner,  though  it  is  the  devil  himself,  still  it  has  been  his 
duty,  and  ever  will  be,  to  love  the  Lord  his  God  and 
Creator  every  moment  of  his  being,  and  to  obey  him 
because  he  loves  him.  God  was  the  Creator  of  man- 
angels  and  of  the  world,  before  he  assumed  human  form  ; 
and  was  he  any  the  less  such  after  its  assumption  ?  To 
say  that  the  God  who  made  all  the  living  forms  of  the 
universe  could  not  have  made  any  one  he  pleased  for  him- 
self, will  do  well  enough  for  freethinkers,  or  no-thinkers, 
like  Ingersoll,  but  it  is  too  absurd  for  common  sense.  He 
also  exposes  his  bad  science  and  worse  philosophy  by  call- 
ing our  world  "a.  grain  of  sand."  Of  course  he  bor- 
rowed the  idea  from  the  groundless  speculations  of  the 
nebular  theory  of  Laplace,  adopted  by  Darwin,  Lyell, 
Proctor,  etc.,  who  also  did  the  same  thing,  just  as  he  does 
his  opinions  of  God,  Christ,  the  devil,  heaven,  hell,  etc., 
from  the  sceptics  of  the  past,  and  without  the  least  thought 
or  reason  on  his  part.  And  such  is  the  mind  which  at- 
tempts to  grapple  with  these  great  questions  ! 

Providence  of  God  in  Nature. 

Ingersoll  says:  ''Since  the  invention  of  steamships 
and  railways,  so  that  the  products  of  all  countries  can 
be  easily  exchanged,  the  gods  have  quit  the  business  of 
producing  famine."  That  it  is  impossible  to  respect  what 
the  scoffer  says  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  since  these 
inventions  were  in  full  blast,  we  have  had  the  famines  of 
India,  China,  and  Ireland,  and  a  score  of  others  of  less 
note,  in  whicli  more  people  died  of  starvation  than  in 
any  other  three  famines  recorded  in  ancient  history. 
Besides,  every  famine  is  as  truly  the  work  of  God  as  an 
ecli})se  of  the  sun  is  his  work  ;  both  equally  result  from 
the  operation  of  the  principles  which  run  the  machinery 
he  made  and  put  in  motion  at  the  creation  of  the  world, 
and  to  say  he  did  not  know  what  his  machine  would 
accomplish,  at  any  particular  time  or  place,  is  forbidden 


WHY   INGERSOLL   is   POPULAR.  239 

by  the  detailed  adjustment  of  the  works  of  nature  them- 
selves. According  to  this  principle,  the  Creator  involved 
in  his  machinery  of  nature  whatever  irregularities  or  de- 
rangements which  would  result  from  its  operation  during 
all  periods  of  time,  thus  providing  for  every  famine  and 
every  other  natural  evil.  These  constitute  the  providence 
of  God,  all  of  which  have  resulted  from  man's  disobe- 
dience to  the  rightful  laws  of  the  only  proprietor  of  the 
universe,  the  revealed  purpose  of  which  is  to  make  the 
present  world  an  uncomfortable  abode  for  man,  that  he 
might  be  induced  easier  to  seek  one  of  endless  duration, 
one  in  the  re-created  world  of  his  righteous  and  eternal 
government.  It  is  this  end  that  justifies  the  means  for 
its  accomplishment,  and  without  a  knowledge  of  which 
involves  all  in  incomprehensible  mystery. 

The  Creator  cursed  the  earth  and  its  productive  pow- 
ers when  man  became  a  sinner,  and  for  his  sake.  The 
second  curse  took  place  at  the  deluge,  when  he  broke  up 
the  entire  crust  of  the  earth,  the  greatest  source  of  physi- 
cal derangement.  Whatever  of  these  calamities  would  be 
modified  by  a  prayer  or  life  of  a  saint,  important  in 
facilitating  the  more  rapid  populization  of  this  coming 
New  World,  having  foreseen  it,  he  could  also  have  in- 
volved, interwoven  it  in  the  machinery  itself,  at  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  Any  other  view  makes  God 
careless  and  uncertain  what  will  take  place  in  these  great 
departments  of  his  work.  This  providence,  with  the 
above  exceptions,  if  indeed  they  are  such,  can  have 
nothing  to  do  in  producing  the  moral  or  Christian  char- 
acter of  men,  but  befall  all  equally.  Men  have  will  and 
mind  which  must  be  consulted,  and  they  are  as  free  to 
act  within  their  sphere  as  the  Creator  himself  is  within 
his  sphere.  Of  course,  if  he  cannot  be  induced  to  do  and 
be  that  which  is  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  his  Maker,  he 
must  take  the  consequences,  and  such  may  infer,  from 
the  severity  with  which  his  laws  of  nature  are  made  to 
execute  themselves,  what  will  be  done  in  the  infliction 
of  the  revealed  penalties  against  the  finally  impenitent 
when  the  time  comes  appointed  for  that  work.  Being 
ignorant   of  all  this,   Ingersoll  continues   to  talk  thus: 


240      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURV. 

''Now  and  then  God  kills  a  child  because  it  is  idohzed 
by  its  parents.  As  a  rule  he  has  given  up  accidents  on 
railroads,  exploding  boilers,  and  bursting  kerosene  lamps. 
Cholera,  yellow-fever,  and  small-pox  are  still  considered 
heavenly  weapons ;  but  measles,  itch,  and  ague  are  now 
attributed  to  natural  causes.  [He  should  have  known  that 
everything  in  nature  are  effects,  and  she  is  the  cause  of 
nothing.]  As  a  general  thing  God  has  stopped  drowning 
children,  except  as  punishment  for  violating  the  Sabbath 
[a  cunning  little  scoff]. 

''In  wars  between  great  nations  God  still  interferes; 
but  in  prize-fights  the  best  man,  with  an  honest  referee, 
is  almost  sure  to  win.  [See  the  scoffer's  low  design  to 
degrade  the  God  of  nations  by  associating  him  with 
prize-fighting;  but  it  shows  that  the  prize-fighter  is  held 
in  high  esteem  by  this  God-hating  Col.]  The  church 
must  insist  that  ]3rayer  is  answered ;  that  some  power 
superior  to  nature  [nature  has  no  power,  all  power  is  in 
mind]  hears  and  grants  the  requests  of  the  sincere  and 
humble  Christian,  and  that  this  same  power  in  some 
mysterious  way  provides  for  all."  As  Ingersoll  is  not  one 
of  these  sincere,  humble  Christians,  having  nothing  of 
their  experience,  he  knows  nothing  of  the  subject,  and 
which  is  of  course  mysterious  and  incomprehensible  to 
him.  If  he  wishes  to  know  whether  God  answers  prayer, 
let  him  ask  these  sincere,  humble  Christians,  and  he  will 
receive  the  testimony  of  intelligent  witnesses,  who  have 
experience  in  the  matter. 

Another  Youu^  Ingersoll  Discovered. 

The  conceited  scoffer  discovered  another  such  prodigy, 
about  whom  he  says  :  "  A  devout  clergyman  sought  every 
opportunity  to  impress  upon  the  mind  of  his  son  the  fact 
that  God  takes  care  of  all  his  creatures ;  that  the  falling 
sparrow  attracts  his  attention,  and  that  his  loving-kind- 
ness is  over  all  his  works.  Happening  one  day  to  see  a 
crane  wading  in  quest  of  food,  the  good  man  pointed  out 
to  his  son  the  i)erfert  adaptation  to  get  his  living  in  this 
manner.     '  See/  said  he,  '  how  his  legs  are  formed  for 


WHY    INGERSOLL   IS   POPULAR.  24I 

wading  !  What  a  long  slender  bill  he  has.  Observe  how 
nicely  he  folds  his  feet  when  putting  them  in  or  drawing 
them  out  of  the  water;  he  does  not  cause  the  slightest 
ripple.  He  is  thus  enabled  to  approach  the  fish,  without 
giving  them  any  notice  of  his  arrival.  My  son,'  said 
he,  '  it  is  not  possible  to  look  at  that  bird  without  recog- 
nizing the  design  as  well  as  the  goodness  of  God,  in 
thus  providing  the  means  of  subsistence.'  '  Yes,'  replied 
the  boy,  I  think  I  do  see,  so  far  as  the  crane  is  con- 
cerned ;  but,  after  all,  don't  you  think  the  arrangement  is 
a  little  tough  on  the  fish  ?  '  "  Of  course  Ingersoll  is  the 
bright  boy,  and  the  father  is  the  dull  clergyman.  This 
fact  of  the  bird  and  fish  confounds  the  one,  and  satisfies 
the  other  that  God  is  not  good  ;  and  the  story  illustrates 
the  food  question,  relative  to  organic  beings,  of  supply 
and  demand,  as  well  as  the  adaptation  of  each  to  prey  upon 
the  other  for  food.  Nature  does  nothing  of  this  work,  has 
no  economy,  and  is  simply  the  means  in  the  hand  of  God 
for  the  purposes  they  subserve,  just  as  the  tools  are  in  the 
hand  of  the  mechanic  with  which  he  builds  the  loco- 
motive. God  asks  no  such  superficial  and  sentimental 
defence  to  screen  him  from  the  production  of  the  earth- 
quakes, or  hardships  of  living  beings,  by  ascribing  them  to 
nature.  It  is  God  himself  who  assumes  the  responsibility 
for  all  things  called  ''natural  evil,"  concerning  which  he 
speaks  thus:  "I  am  the  Lord,  and  there  is  none  else. 
I  form  the  light,  and  create  darkness ;  I  make  peace, 
and  create  evil ;  I  the  Lord  do  all  these  things. ' '  (Isa. 
45-6,  7.)  ''  Shall  there  be  evil  in  a  city,  and  the  Lord 
hath  not  done  it  ?  "     (Amos  2>'-  ^-^ 

The  direct  source  of  all  these  evils  results  from  the  curse 
of  the  inanimate  world,  inflicted  by  the  Creator  in  conse- 
quence of  the  disobedience  of  man.  To  Adam  he  said  : 
"Cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake."  (Gen.  3:  17.) 
The -next  curse  was  by  the  deluge,  which  left  the  earth  in 
as  bad  a  condition  as  the  Creator  ever  intended  to  reduce 
It.  ''And  the  Lord  said  unto  Noah,  and  in  his  heart,  I 
will  not  again  curse  the  ground  for  man's  sake."  (Gen. 
8:  21.)  "The  earth  is  also  defiled  under  the  inhabi- 
tants thereof,  because   they   have   transgressed   the  laws, 


242      CONFLICT   OF   THB   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

changed  the  ordinances,  and  broken  the  everlasting  cov- 
enant;  therefore  hath  the  curse  devoured  the  earth." 
(Isa.  24:  5.)  It  is  a  fact  that  a  very  large  proportion  of 
animals  cannot  live  but  by  devouring  others,  and  man  is 
the  greatest  devourer  of  all.  He  is  provided  with  vege- 
table teeth  to  grind  and  animal  teeth  to  tear.  Indeed,  he 
kills  and  appropriates  almost  everything — fish,  flesh,  and 
fowl — for  his  food,  clothing,  comfort,  and  decoration ;  even 
the  women  adorn  their  bonnets  with  the  plumage  of  birds 
killed  for  the  purpose.  The  pain  and  suffering  incident 
to  the  killing  of  an  ox  is  as  great  to  it  as  the  killing  of  a 
man  to  the  man,  and  the  pain  of  death  is  a  universal  evil 
from  which  the  saints  of  God  do  not  escape.  Pain  re- 
sulting from  the  sensitive  nervous  system,  revealing  organic 
derangement  to  the  individual,  is  essential  to  the  preser- 
vation of  health  ;  while  that  of  dying  comes  as  a  necessity. 
These  provisions  of  nature  make  known  the  disposition  of 
the  God  who  made  them,  and  from  which  men  may  learn 
that  he  that  offends  against  the  written  and  religious  laws 
of  God  will  equally  suffer  their  pains  and  penalties. 

It  were  well  for  Mr.  Ingersoll  to  think  and  investigate 
beyond  the  clergyman  and  his  boy  to  learn  the  lesson 
thus  written  :  ''  Behold  the  goodness  and  the  severity  of 
God  "  (Rom.  II  :  22)  ;  and  "  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Hving  God"   (Heb.  10:  31). 

Beauties  of  a  Cancel^  the  Sceptic's  Argument. 

''Even  the  advanced  religionists,"  says  Ingersoll, 
''  although  disbelieving  in  any  great  amount  of  interfer- 
ence by  God  in  this  age  of  the  world,  still  think  that  in 
the  beginning  God  made  the  laws  governing  the  universe. 
He  believes  that  in  consequence  of  these  laws  a  man  can 
lift  a  greater  weight  with  than  without  a  lever  ;  that  this 
God  so  made  matter,  and  established  the  order  of  things, 
that  two  bodies  cannot  occui)y  the  same  s))ace  at  the  same 
time  ;  that  it  is  a  greater  distance  around  than  across  a 
circle  ;  that  a  perfect  square  has  four  equal  sides ;  that  a 
whole  is  greater  than  a  part ;  and  that  had  it  not  been  for 
this  power,    superior   to   nature,   twice  one    might   have 


WHY   INGERSOLL   IS   POPULAR.  243 

been  more  than  twice  two,  and  sticks  and  strings  might 
have  had  only  one  end."  [See  what  silly  and  false  things 
he  charges  to  be  held  by  the  most  advanced  religionists. 
Did  any  man  ever  know  of  one  who  held  that,  under  any 
possible  circumstances,  ''twice  one  might  have  been 
more  than  twice  two,  that  a  stick  or  string  might  have  but 
one  end,"  if  God  had  not  made  the  world.  What  a  fellow- 
fool  a  man  must  be  who  supposes  Ingersoll  either  wise  or 
honest !]  Again  he  says  :  "■  These  religious  people  see 
nothing  but  design  everywhere,  and  personal  intelli- 
gent interference  in  everything.  They  insist  that  the 
universe  has  been  created,  and  that  the  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends  is  perfectly  apparent.  They  point  to  the 
sunshine,  and  to  all  there  is  of  beauty  and  use  in  the 
world."  [We  may  now  expect  that  this  biblical  scholar 
and  philosophic  scientist  is  going  to  give  us  argument  to 
prove  all  these  advanced  views  of  Christians  absurd — that 
God  did  not  create  the  world,  that  means  are  not  adapted 
to  ends,  that  like  causes  do  not  produce  like  effects  ;  and, 
doing  this,  he  will  easily  expose  the  error  and  credulity  of 
the  most  intelligent  religious  people.  Let  us  hear  him, 
and  be  disappointed.] 

"  Did  it  ever  occur  to  them  that  a  cancer  is  as  beauti- 
ful in  its  development  as  the  reddest  rose  ?  [What  an 
aesthetic]  That  what  religious  people  are  pleased  to  call 
the  adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  is  as  apparent  in  the 
cancer  as  in  the  April  rains?  [Who  ever  said  it  was  not? 
The  law  is  universal.]  How  beautiful  the  process  of  di- 
gestion !  By  what  ingenious  methods  the  blood  is  pois- 
oned so  that  the  cancer  shall  have  food  !  By  what  won- 
derful contrivances  the  entire  system  of  man  is  made  to 
pay  tribute  to  this  divine  and  charming  cancer  !  See  by 
what  admirable  instrumentalities  it  feeds  itself  from  the 
surrounding  quivering  flesh  !  See  how  it  grows,  with 
what  marvellous  mechanism  it  is  supplied  with  long 
and  slender  roots  that  stretch  out  to  the  most  secret 
nerves  of  pain  for  sustenance  and  life  !  What  beautiful 
colors  it  presents  !  Seen  through  a  microscope  it  is  a 
miracle  of  order  and  beauty.  All  the  ingenuity  of 
man  cannot  stop   its  growth.     Think  of  the  amount   of 


244      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

thought  it  must  have  required  to  invent  a  way  by 
which  the  hfe  of  one  man  might  be  given  to  produce  a 
cancer.  Is  it  possible  to  look  upon  it  and  doubt  that 
there  is  a  design  in  the  universe — [has  he  not  just  been 
describing  the  design  in  the  mechanism  of  the  cancer  ? 
and  do  they  not  always  produce  the  same  effect,  death  ? 
"Of  dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return." 
*'It  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die" — that  the  in- 
ventor of  this  wonderful  cancer  partook  of  the  infinite?  " 
[Yes,  we  answer  ;  for  it  baffled  all  finite  skill  either  to 
make  or  cure  it,  as  you  have  just  said.] 

The  introduction  of  pains  and  diseases  into  the  world, 
growing  out  of  the  universal  curse,  was  one  of  the  ele- 
ments of  God's  plan,  through  which  he  is  able  in  less 
time  to  accomplish  his  purposes  with  man  and  the  world, 
which  is  indicated  in  the  acknowledgment:  **  Before  I 
was  afflicted  I  went  astray."  If  Ingersoll,  at  the  head  of 
human  skill,  with  all  mankind  as  his  assistants,  cannot 
make  or  cure  such  a  cancer,  then  there  is  a  Being  above 
him  and  all  others,  of  superior  power  and  intelligence, 
who  did  make  it.  If  all  the  ingenuity  of  man  cannot 
make  such  a  piece  of  mechanism,  then  ignorant  nature, 
not  possessing  a  particle  of  skill  or  ingenuity,  could  not 
have  made  the  wonderful  cancer ;  and  as  its  organization 
partakes  of  the  infinite,  an  infinite  Being  made  it;  there- 
fore was  it  a  supernatural  and  superhuman  work,  a  most 
wonderful  miracle,  because  one  of  which  nature,  with 
man  as  one  of  her  parts,  was  incapable.  So  you  see,  Mr. 
Ingersoll,  whether  you  select  one  of  God's  healthy  organic 
formations  or  a  cancer  of  transformation  to  show  there  is 
no  Creator,  it  equally  necessitates  and  demonstrates  his 
existence,  and  the  works  of  all  nature,  the  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends,  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes. 
IngersoU's  brain  is  so  mixed  up  and  confiised  upon  these 
subjects,  that  he  utterly  fails  to  distinguish  between 
knowledge — matter  of  fact — and  belief.  He  has  here  in- 
troduced a  dozen  self-evident  truths,  mathematical  dem- 
onstrations, which,  he  says,  are  "  believed."  Docs  a  man 
believe  or  does  he  know  that  twice  two  are  more  than 
twice  one  ?     Is  it  a  matter  of  belief  or  knowledge  that  a 


WHY    INGERSOLL   IS   POPULAR.  24S 

man  can  lift  a  greater  weight  with  a  lever  than  without 
one  ?  Now  how  can  a  man  talk  intelligibly  upon  the 
subject  of  faith  who  entertains  such  ideas  ?  The  sub- 
stance of  IngersoU's  lectures  are  repetitions  from  Paine's 
''Age  of  Reason,"  especially  about  Christ  and  the  Bible, 
which  are  old  and  stale,  written  a  hundred  years  ago ; 
and  yet  he  puts  himself  at  the  head  of  this  age  of  prog- 
ress. But  to  show  Paine's  superior  knowledge  of  nature 
and  philosophical  science,  in  contrast  to  the  silly  talk  of 
Ingersoll,  scoffing  at  the  existence  of  God,  the  Creator 
of  the  world,  we  introduce  the  following  passage  from 
Paine's  ''  Age  of  Reason." 


CHAPTER  X. 

PAINE    SHOWS    NATURE    DEMONSTRATES    THE    EXISTENCE 
OF    GOD. 

Speaking  about  God,  Paine  says:  ''Do  we  want  to 
contemplate  his  power?  We  see  it  in  the  unchangea- 
ble order  by  which  the  incomprehensible  universe  is 
governed  ?  Do  you  want  to  contemplate  his  munifi- 
cence ?  We  see  it  in  the  abundance  with  which  he  fills 
the  universe  ?  Do  we  want  to  contemplate  his  mercy  ? 
We  see  it  in  his  not  withholding  that  abundance  fi-om 
the  unthankfiil.  In  fine,  do  we  want  to  know  what  God 
is  ?  Search  creation.  The  only  idea  man  can  afiix  to 
the  name  of  God  is  that  of  a  first  cause — the  cause  of  all 
things ;  and  incomprehensible  and  difficult  as  it  is  for  a 
man  to  conceive  what  a  first  cause  is,  he  arrives  at  the 
belief  of  it  from  the  tenfold  greater  difficulty  of  disbe- 
lieving it.  It  is  difficult  beyond  description  to  conceive 
that  space  can  have  no  end  ;  but  it  is  more  difficult  to 
conceive  an  end.  It  is  difficult,  beyond  the  power  of 
man,  to  conceive  an  eternal  duration  of  what  we  call 
time  ;  but  it  is  more  impossible  to  conceive  a  time  when 
there  shall  be  no  time.  In  like  manner  of  reasoning, 
everything  we  behold  carries  in  itself  the  internal  evi- 
dence that  it  did  not  make  itself,  that  he  did  not  make 
himself;  neither  could  his  father  have  made  himself,  nor 
his  grandfather,  nor  any  of  his  race  ;  neither  could  any 
tree,  plant,  or  animal  have  made  itself ;  and  it  is  the  con- 
viction arising  from  this  evidence  that  carries  us  on,  as 
it  were  by  necessity,  to  the  belief  of  a  first  cause  eternally 
existing,  and  this  cause  man  calls  God.  It  is  only  by 
the  exercise  of  reason  that  man  can  discern  God  ;  take 
away  that  reason,  and  man  would  be  incapable  of  under- 
standing anything.     So  also  must  it  be  believed  that  he 


NATURE   DEMONSTRATES   GOD'S   EXISTENCE.     24/ 

organized  the  structure  of  the  universe  for  the  benefit  of 
man,  and  that  the  Creation  we  behold  is  the  real  and 
ever-existing  Word  of  God,  in  which  we  cannot  be 
deceived.  It  proclaims  his  power,  it  demonstrates  his 
wisdom,  and  manifests  his  goodness  and  beneficence. 

''That  the  whole  duty  of  man  consists  in  imitating 
the  moral  goodness  and  beneficence  of  God,  manifested 
in  the  creation  toward  all  his  creatures,  that  seeing  as 
we  do  daily  the  goodness  of  God  to  all  men,  it  is 
an  example  calling  upon  all  men  to  practise  the  same 
toward  each  other ;  and,  consequently,  that  everything 
of  persecution  and  revenge  between  man  and  man,  and 
everything  of  cruelty  to  animals,  is  a  violation  of  moral 
duty.  When  impressed  as  fully  and  strongly  as  we 
ought  to  be  with  the  belief  of  God,  man's  moral  life 
would  be  regulated  by  the  force  of  that  belief;  and  he 
would  stand  in  awe  of  God,  and  of  himself,  and  would 
not  do  anything  that  could  be  concealed  from  others. 
We  can  know  God  only  through  his  works.  We  cannot 
have  a  conception  of  any  one  attribute,  but  by  following 
some  principle  that  leads  to  it.  We  have  only  a  confused 
idea  of  his  power,  if  we  have  not  the  means  of  compre- 
hending something  of  its  immensity.  We  have  no  idea 
of  his  wisdom,  but  by  knowing  the  order  and  manner 
in  which  it  acts.  The  principles  of  science  lead  to  this 
knowledge  ;  for  the  Creator  of  man  is  the  Creator  of 
science,  and  it  is  through  this  medium  that  man  can  see 
God,  as  it  were,  face  to  face.  Could  a  man  be  placed 
in  a  situation,  and  endowed  with  the  power  of  vision, 
to  behold  at  one  view,  and  to  contemplate  deliberately, 
the  structure  of  the  universe  ;  to  mark  the  movements  of 
the  several  parts,  the  cause  of  their  varying  appearances, 
the  unerring  motion  in  which  they  revolve  and  depend 
on  each  other ;  and  to  know  the  system  of  laws,  estab- 
lished by  the  Creator,  that  governs  and  regulates  the 
whole — he  would  then  conceive,  far  beyond  what  any 
church  theology  can  teach  him,  the  power,  the  vastness, 
the  munificence  of  the  Creator  ;  he  would  then  see  that 
all  the  knowledge  man  has  of  science,  and  all  the 
mechanical  arts  by  which  he  renders  his  situation  com- 


248      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

fortable,  are  derived  from  that  source.  His  mind,  ex- 
alted by  the  scene  and  convinced  by  the  fact,  would 
increase  his  gratitude  as  it  increased  his  knowledge  ;  his 
religion  or  his  worship  would  become  united  with  his 
improvement  as  a  man  ;  any  employment  he  followed 
that  had  connection  with  the  principles  of  Creation,  as 
everything  of  agriculture,  of  science,  and  of  the  mechani- 
cal arts,  would  teach  him  more  of  God,  and  of  the  grat- 
itude he  owes  to  him.  Great  objects  inspire  great 
thoughts;  great  munificence  excites  great  gratitude." — 
Paine's  ''Age  of  Reason,"  pages  151,  152. 

What  makes  a  Deist,  a  Christian,  or  aii  Atheist? 

It  is  easy  to  see  from  these  passages  that  Paine  had 
studied  nature,  as  he  tells  us,  and  from  his  boyhood.  The 
proof  is  in  the  ideas  themselves ;  not  that  the  ideas  were 
original,  for  they  were  taught  by  Socrates  substantially 
the  same.  This  study  made  Paine  a  deist.  Had  he 
studied  from  his  youth  Christianity  alone  from  the 
Scripture,  and  not  confounded  it  with  that  of  the  Papal 
Church  with  which  he  was  surrounded,  it  would  have 
made  him  a  Christian.  It  was  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  that  Paine  wrote  "  The  Age  of  Reason."  He  fin- 
ished Part  First  without  having  read  the  Bible,  and 
could  not  procure  one  ;  and  what  he  said  about  it  was 
from  his  early  recollections,  received  from  his  father, 
who  was  a  Quaker.  The  criticisms  its  publication  pro- 
voked induced  him  to  get  a  Bible,  in  order  to  attempt  to 
vindicate  himself,  which  he  thinks  he  did  in  publishing 
the  second  part.  He  gave  the  Bible  a  cursory  reading 
while  he  was  writing  the  second  part.  But  to  learn  its 
principles  in  so  short  a  time  was  as  impossible  as  to  learn 
the  science  of  the  universe  in  the  same  period,  and 
which  was  rendered  more  difficult  by  the  pride  of  opin- 
ion he  sought  to  sustain  of  his  former  views.  Indeed, 
had  he  told  us  that  he  had  studied  the  Bible  from  his 
boyhood,  it  would  have  been  refuted  by  the  ignorant 
things  he  says  about  it.  He  thinks  he  demolished  the 
Bible   by   showing   that   some   of    the  New    Testament 


NATURE   DEMONSTRATES   GOD'S   EXISTENCE.     249 

writers,  whose    names    the    books    bear,   were  not    their 
authors. 

Of  course,  he  failed  ;  but  had  he  succeeded,  it  would 
have  been  an  error,  as  all  the  writers  claim  God  to  be  the 
author  of  the  words  they  wrote.  He  might  with  the 
same  propriety  have  said  that  there  is  no  law  of  gravita- 
tion, because  Kepler's  and  Newton's  writings  about  that 
law  were  not  written  by  them.  While  Paine's  philo- 
sophical knowledge  of  nature  compelled  him  to  know 
there  was' a  God  that  made  him,  Ingersoll's  ignorance  of 
the  science  of  nature  compels  him  to  reject  these  con- 
clusions. While  Paine's  knowledge  of  nature  forced 
him  to  believe  in  God  and  made  him  a  deist,  his  igno- 
rance of  the  Bible  produced  no  conviction  of  its  truth  ; 
while  Ingersoll's  ignorance  of  both  makes  him  an  athe- 
ist. To  know  nature  may  make  a  man  a  deist ;  to  know 
the  Scriptures  may  make  a  man  a  Christian  ;  but  to  know 
neither  is  to  make  a  man  an  atheist  or  a  freethinker  ! 

Ingersoir  s  Prayer  for  an  Idea — Pitiable  Object. 

He  says :  "If  the  church  wishes  us  to  believe,  let  one 
of  the  intellectual  saints  perform  a  miracle,  and  we  will 
believe.  [This  puts  us  in  mind  of  the  equally  wilful  and 
blind  Pharisees  who  had  within  their  observation  scores 
of  miracles  performed  by  Jesus,  and  when  they  had 
nailed  the  Intellectual  Saint  to  the  crucifix,  said  :  "Let 
him  now  come  down  from  the  cross,  and  we  will  worship 
him."]  We  are  told  that  nature  has  a  superior.  Let 
him  for  a  single  moment  control  nature,  and  we  will 
admit  the  truth  of  your  assertions.  [After  such  a  con- 
fession of  ignorance  of  nature,  not  seeing  that  this 
superior  is  controlling  nature  in  all  her  phenomena,  no' 
reflection  can  attach  to  us  by  giving  him  credit  for  it. 
So  profoundly  ignorant  is  he  of  nature  that  he  thinks  she 
made  herself,  and,  while  moving,  set  herself  in  motion, 
and  that  therefore  the  motion  was  before  the  motion.] 
In  the  olden  time  [says  he]  the  church,  by  violating  the 
order  of  nature,  proved  the  existence  of  her  God.  At 
that  time  miracles  were  performed  with  the  most  aston- 


2  50      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

ishing  ease ;  they  became  so  common  that  she  ordered 
the  priests  to  desist ;  and  now  the  same  church  and  peo- 
ple, having  found  some  Httle  sense,  admit  not  only  that 
she  cannot  perform  a  miracle,  but  insist  that  the  absence 
of  miracles,  the  steady  unbroken  march  of  cause  and  ef- 
fect, proves  the  existence  of  a  power  superior  to  nature. 
[It  is  only  such  atheists  in  the  church  who  raise  this 
question,  by  the  adoption  of  the  modern  science  of  evolu- 
tion and  the  geological  antiquity  of  the  world,  and  who 
contend  that  like  causes  do  not  produce  like  effects.  But 
after  stating  these  things  he  calls  facts,  and  in  a  defiant 
manner,  he  becomes  exalted  to  an  awful  altitude  of  self- 
esteem,  and  comes  down  on  our  poor  church  with  the 
hollow  noise  of  puffed-up  thunder  and  painted  lightning, 
thus:]  We  have  heard  talk  enough.  We  have  listened 
to  all  the  drowsy,  idealess,  vapid  sermons  that  we  wish 
to  hear.  We  have  read  your  Bible  ;  we  have  read  the 
works  of  your  best  minds  [and  read  both  to  pervert  them]. 
We  have  heard  your  prayers,  solemn  groans,  and  rever- 
ential Amens.  All  these  amount  to  less  than  nothing. 
[If  he  wanted  experience,  so  as  to  make  his  opinions  of 
any  value,  why  did  he  not  pray  himself,  according  to  the 
Bible  directions  ?]  We  want  one  fact.  We  beg  at  the 
doors  of  your  churches  for  just  one  fact.  We  pass  our 
hats  along  your  pews,  and  under  your  pulpits,  and  im- 
plore you  for  just  one  fact.  [Having  not  one  fact  in  all 
your  foolish,  atheistic  lectures  and  sceptical  books,  you 
would  not  be  able  to  identify  it  as  a  fact.  If  one  of  the 
saints  should  condescend  to  give  you  one,  even  at  the 
risk  of  violating  the  instruction,  "  Cast  not  your  pearls 
before  swine,  lest  they  turn  round  and  rend  you,"  you 
would  not  know  it.] 

"We  know  all  about  your  mouldy  wonders  and  your 
stale  miracles.  We  want  a  this  year's  fact.  We  ask  only 
one  ;  give  us  one  fact  for  charity.  Your  miracles  are  too 
ancient ;  the  witnesses  have  been  dead  for  nearly  two 
thousand  years.  Their  reputation  for  truth  and  veracity 
in  the  neighborhood  where  they  resided  is  wholly  un- 
known to  us.  Give  us  a  new  miracle,  sustained  by  wit- 
nesses who  still  have  the  cheerful  habit  of  living  in  this 


NATURE   DEMONSTRATES   GODS   EXISTENCE.     25 1 

world.  Do  not  send  us  to  Jericho  to  hear  the  winding 
horns,  nor  put  us  in  the  fire  with  Shadrach,  Meshach, 
and  Abed-nego.  Do  not  compel  us  to  navigate  the  sea 
with  captain  Jonah,  nor  dine  with  Ezekiel.  There  is  no 
sort  of  use  in  sending  us  hunting  with  Samson.  We  have 
positively  lost  all  interest  in  that  little  speech  so  elo- 
quently delivered  by  Balaam's  inspired  donkey.  It  is 
worse  than  useless  to  show  us  fishes  with  money  in  their 
mouths,  and  call  our  attention  to  vast  multitudes  stuffing 
themselves  with  five  crackers  and  two  sardines.  We  want 
a  new  miracle,  and  we  demand  it  now.  Let  the  church 
furnish  at  least  one,  or  forever  after  hold  their  peace." 
The  scoffing  blasphemy  and  funny  merriment  has  its  ex- 
planation in  IngersoU's  greed  to  make  the  fools  laugh  and 
get  their  money.  But  such  importunity,  such  an  object 
of  intellectual  starvation,  should  excite  the  sympathy  of 
even  the  passer-by,  especially  when  the  beggar  only  asks 
one  idea,  one  fact — with  a  little  doubt  attached  to  it ;  for 
this  purpose  he  advises  everyone  to  cherish  his  doubts,  as 
they  lead  to  the  knowledge  taught  by  Satan.  It  is  clear 
from  this  ardent  plea  that  IngersoU  is  the  most  abject 
case  of  intellectual  penury  the  world  ever  saw,  lower  even 
than  that  of  Balaam's  ass,  for  he  had  one  fact,  that  of  see- 
ing the  angel,  which  the.  false  prophet  could  not  do,  and 
with  which  experience  the  animal  could  talk  more  to 
the  purpose  than  the  man  who  tries  to  slander  him,  un- 
less he  is  the  veriest  hypocrite  of  a  tramp  that  ever  lived, 
and  we  are  rather  disposed  to  give  him  credit  for  the  ig- 
norant poverty  he  professes.  Think  of  it,  ye  who  have 
facts,  and  spare  just  "one  little  one  "  in  relation  to  the 
great  subjects  of  the  origin  of  the  world  and  the  Bible,  and 
the  harmonious  revelation  of  both  books,  and  bestow  it  in 
charity  upon  this  New  York  lecturer  on  the  gods,  so  that 
he  may  not  die  without  "  one  idea  !  " 

There  are  but  two  sources  from  which  all  facts  and 
their  scientific  and  philosophic  teaching  are  derived — two 
books  in  which  every  atom  of  human  knowledge  is  con- 
tained upon  these  subjects — God's  book  of  nature,  and 
his  book  of  inspired  revelation  ;  but  from  neither  of  these 
exhaustless  fountains  has  the  scoffer  IngersoU  ever  been 


252      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

able  to  extract  a  single  fact,  or  one  idea  as  even  a  rudi- 
ment of  knowledge.  The  inspired  book  has  not  taught 
him  a  single  idea,  as  he  himself  confesses  ;  and  though 
pretending  otherwise,  it  is  just  as  certain  to  those  who 
understand  the  book  of  nature  that  he  has  not  learned  a 
single  one  of  her  facts  or  ideas,  the  knowledge  of  which 
depends  upon  that  of  their  origin,  and  this  upon  that  of 
the  prior  existence  of  God  the  Creator  as  the  only  scien- 
tific and  philosophic  power  adequate  to  their  production, 
or  to  the  origin  of  any  power  whatever.  Every  fact  has 
its  philosophy  and  science,  and  as  such  involves  its  origin 
and  moving  phenomena. 

To  be  Taught  of  God  too  Humiliatiug  foi'  Sceptical  Pride. 

It  may  be  thought  that  we  should  have  omitted  quot- 
ing some  of  the  most  scurrilous  and  blasphemous  things 
Ingersoll  here  says  ;  but  had  we  done  so,  he  or  some  of 
his  friends,  in  reviewing  our  book,  might  have  attempted 
to  make  capital  out  of  it,  as  things  we  w^ere  unable  to  an- 
swer ;  and  it  should  also  be  remembered  that  the  whole 
of  this  lecture  has  been  published  by  the  New  York  Trih- 
iine  and  the  general  press  of  the  country ;  and  where  is 
the  man  who  has  not  read  it  or  heard  it  ?  The  scoffer 
says,  ''  The  Deity  has  demanded  the  most  abject  and  de- 
grading obedience.  [It  is  a  universally  conceded  sen- 
timent that  to  serve  the  greatest  king  or  emperor  is  to 
be  the  most  honored,  and  this  reaches  its  infinitude  when 
the  service  is  accepted  and  the  obedience  paid  by  man  to 
his  Creator ;  but  in  his  insolent  pride  and  cowardly  pre- 
tence, this  is  intolerable  to  the  will  and  heart  of  Ingersoll, 
and  were  he  equal  to  his  desire,  rather  than  submit  he 
would  reduce  his  Maker  to  the  most  abject  servitude.] 
In  order  to  please  him,  man  must  lay  his  face  in  the 
dust." 

It  was  said  by  one  of  the  ancients,  ''  That  evil  partook 
of  the  infinite,  and  good  of  the  finite  ;  as  the  evil  is  that 
which  a  man  in  heart  desires  to  do,  and  would  do  if  op- 
portunity was  afforded,  and  not  tliat  alone  which  he  per- 
forms." 


NATURE   DEMONSTRATES   GOD  S   EXISTENCE.     253 

The  scoffer-in-chief  says  again :  "  Gods  have  always 
been  partial  to  the  people  who  created  them,  and  have 
generally  shown  their  partiality  by  assisting  those  people 
to  rob  and  destroy  others."  [We  need  only  remark  upon 
this  that  gods  whom  people  make  to  worship  should  be 
obeyed  by  them,  and  equally  should  the  God  that  made 
us  receive  our  worship  and  obedience  ;  but  one  of  the 
most  prominent  characteristics  of  the  God  of  the  Bible 
is  his  impartiality,  having  no  respect  for  persons,  but 
wholly  respecting  character — looking  at  the  heart,  the 
thought,  the  motive.]  He  says,  ''  Nothing  is  so  pleasing 
to  these  gods  the  people  make — [the  foolishness,  to  talk 
about  such  gods  being  pleased  !] — as  the  butchery  of  un- 
believers. Nothing  so  enrages  them,  even  now,  as  to 
have  someone  deny  their  existence.  [What  a  senseless 
mass  is  this  ;  that  men  should  make  gods,  and  then  the 
ungrateful,  wrathful  things  turn  round  and  deny  the  ex- 
istence of  their  makers,  even  subject  them  to  butchery ! 
It  seems  as  though  the  unfortunate  people  would  never 
make  but  one  set  of  such  gods.]  Few  nations  have 
been  so  poor  as  to  have  but  one  god  ;  gods  were  made  so 
easily,  and  the  raw  material  so  plenty  and  cheap,  that 
generally  the  god  market  was  glutted,  and  heaven 
crammed  with  these  phantoms.  The  gods  not  only  at- 
tended to  the  skies,  but  were  supposed  to  interfere  with 
all  the  affairs  of  men.  They  presided  over  everybody 
and  everything ;  all  was  under  their  immediate  control ; 
nothing  was  small,  and  nothing  was  large ;  the  falling  of 
sparrows  and  motion  of  planets  were  alike  attended  to  by 
these  industrious  and  observing  deities.  From  their 
starry  thrones  they  frequently  came  to  the  earth  for  the 
purpose  of  imparting  information  to  men." 

The  magician  seems  never  to  tire  in  repeating  the 
legends  about  these  many  gods,  their  deep  interests  in  the 
affairs  of  the  people ;  but  why  should  they  not  minister 
thus,  when  the  people  made  them  for  the  purpose,  and 
also  to  aggregations  of  families,  called  nations?  It  is 
therefore  no  wonder  that  the  gods  should  become  excited, 
and  even  indignant,  at  these  wicked  and  foolish  people 
who  had  made  them,  and  then  denied   their  exist-e-nce. 


254      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

What  could  they  expect  for  such  atheistic  treatment  and 
infidehty  than  condign  punishment.  If  Ingersoll  should 
make  one  of  these  gods,  he  would  be  the  last  man  to  bow 
the  knee  before  him,  but  would  want  to  become  the  god 
himself,  and  command  the  deity-servant  to  worship  at  his 
shrine,  proclaiming  man  to  be  the  head  of  nature,  and 
that  no  being  exists  superior  to  him  !  Nor  do  we  see 
why  the  god  should  make  a  fuss  about  the  abject  demand  : 
did  he  not  make  the  god  to  please  him,  and  could  not  the 
maker  appropriate  him  as  he  saw  fit  ?  could  he  not  do  as 
he  liked  with  his  own?  So  if  God  made  Ingersoll,  and 
demands  his  most  servile  obedience,  abject  humiliation, 
and  had  promised  him  nothing  for  the  service,  what  right 
has  he  to  object  ?  God  made  him,  and  every  being  owns 
what  he  makes  ;  and  this  settles  the  question,  rendering 
remonstrance  impossible,  except  as  impudent  arrogance. 

But  instead  of  this,  God  graciously  offers  to  reward  him 
for  the  service  with  immortal  being,  and  everything  he 
needs  to  make  him  eternally  wealthy  and  happy,  and  still 
he  disobeys.  Can  such  conduct  do  otherwise  than  call 
down  destructive  wrath  upon  such  a  vessel  for  which  he 
has  fitted  himself?  Hence  it  is  written  by  the  dictation 
of  the  living  God,  which  harmonizes  with  natural  neces- 
sity :  ''Because  I  have  called,  and  ye  have  refused;  all 
day  long  I  have  stretched  out  my  hand,  and  no  man  re- 
garded it  [no  such  man]  ;  but  ye  have  set  at  naught  all 
my  counsel,  and  would  none  of  my  reproof,  I  also  will 
laugh  at  your  calamity ;  I  will  mock  when  your  fear 
cometh  like  desolation,  and  your  destruction  as  a  whirl- 
wind ;  when  distress  and  anguish  cometh  upon  you.  Then 
shall  ye  call  upon  me,  but  I  will  not  answer ;  ye  shall  seek 
me,  and  shall  not  find  me  :  for  they  hated  knowledge,  and 
did  not  choose  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  They  despised  all 
my  reproof.  Therefore  they  shall  eat  of  the  fruit  of  their 
own  way,  and  be  filled  with  their  own  devices :  for  the 
turning  away  of  the  simj)le  shall  slay  them,  and  the  i)ros- 
perity  of  fools  shall  destroy  them,  l^ut  whoso  hearkeneth 
unto  me  shall  dwell  safely,  and  shall  be  quiet  from  the 
fear  of  evil."  (Prov.  24  :  33.)  The  sin  of  Ingersoll  in 
turning  away  the  simple  from  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 


NATURE  DEMONSTRATES  GOD  S  EXISTENCE.     255 

the  prosperity  of  the  fool  (who  hath  said  in  his  heart,  There 
is  no  god)  in  his  success,  both  fits  him  for  destruction. 
''  Behold,  ye  despisers  !  wonder,  and  perish ;  for  I  will  work 
a  work  in  your  days,  which  ye  shall  in  nowise  beheve, 
though  a  man  declare  it  unto  you."  (Acts  13  :  41.)  This 
work  of  final  destruction  is  that  at  which  Ingersoll  scoffs 
and  makes  ridicule  for  the  entertainment  of  the  simple, 
turning  them  away  from  God,  and  into  his  destructive 
pathway. 

He  says  again :  "  It  is  related  of  one  of  the  gods,  that 
he  came  amid  thunderings  and  lightnings,  in  order  to  tell 
the  people  that  they  should  not  cook  a  kid  in  its  mother's 
milk.  [That  is  a  he.]  He  left  his  shining  abode  to 
tell  a  woman  she  should  have  a  child  [This  is  another 
lie,  for  it  was  an  angel  who  thus  came,  and  the  birth  of 
the  child,  whose  name  was  Isaac,  was  a  miracle,  to  typify 
the  birth  of  Christ]  ;  to  inform  a  priest  how  to  cut  and 
wear  his  apron,  and  to  give  directions  as  to  the  proper 
manner  of  cleaning  the  intestines  of  a  bird."  That  God 
came  upon  mount  Sinai  for  this  purpose,  is  a  most  wanton 
and  slanderous  falsehood.  He  came  there  to  give  the 
world  a  system  of  laws  which  contains  the  righteous  prin- 
ciples of  the  common  law  of  all  civihzed  nations  ;  and 
these  little  details  were  typic  of  great  events  and  duties 
connected  with  Christ  and  the  destiny  of  mankind :  a 
slain  lamb  signified  the  slaying  of  Christ,  and  a  sheaf  of 
the  first  ripe  fruits  of  the  harvest  that  of  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead — "  Christ  the  first-fruits  of  them  that 
slept."  To  cleanse  these  internal  organs  typified  the  ne- 
cessity of  cleansing  the  internal  evil  heart  and  its 
thoughts,  the  purity  of  which  will  be  measured  by  that 
law  in  the  judgment  at  the  last  day,  and  by  whose  prin- 
ciples Ingersoll  will  then  be  tried,  whether  he  likes  it  or 
not,  and  by  Christ  in  person,  "  the  judge  of  quick  and 
dead,"  whom  he  now  delights  to  abuse.  He  did  not  make 
this  God,  nor  can  he  control  or  bribe  him,  even  though 
it  degrades  him  and  his  like  to  "shame  and  everlasting 
contempt."  He  and  God  are  at  great  enmity,  and  he 
declares,  ' '  I  hate  them  that  hate  me ;  ' '  therefore  one  or 
the  other  must  go  down  ;  and  Ingersoll  wants  no  mercy — 


256      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

and  if  he  did,  it  will  be  too  late  then  to  apply  ;  in  his  pride 
he  must  therefore  perish.  He  would  destroy  his  Maker, 
but  cannot ;  and  according  to  the  law  of  God,  sin  is 
measured  by  the  disposition,  the  mahgnity  of  the  intent, 
and  not  by  the  circumstance  or  the  power  to  gratify  it — 
not  what  the  sinner  commits,  but  what  he  would  commit 
if  he  had  the  power  and  opportunity. 

He  says  :  "When  the  people  failed  to  worship  God, 
or  to  clothe  and  feed  his  priests,  he  generally  visited  them 
with  pestilence  and  famine."  A  portion  of  the  sacrifices 
which  the  law  imposed  upon  the  people  were  to  feed  and 
clothe  the  priests,  whose  time  was  wholly  occupied  in  of- 
fering them  and  teaching  its  principles  to  the  people  ;  and 
in  the  worship  of  God  he  esteems  ''  obedience  better  than 
sacrifice,  or  than  whole  burnt  offerings."  But  the  spirit, 
the  intent  of  the  sacrificial  law  typically  pointed  to 
Christ,  and  this  education  introduced  him  to  the  faithfiil 
and  devout  of  every  age,  since  God  instructed  and  com- 
manded Abel  to  offer  the  lamb,  the  firstling  of  his  flock, 
and  a  sheaf  of  the  first  rii)e  fruits  of  his  harvest,  and  to 
repeat  the  offering  once  every  year  :  *•'  For  Christ  is  the 
end  [intent]  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  everyone  that 
believeth."  (Rom.  10:4.)  ''Wherefore  the  law  was 
our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to  Christ,  that  we  might  be 
justified  by  faith."  (Gal.  3  :  24.)  In  a  word,  the  law 
comprehended  the  gospel  of  Christ,  M'hich  God  himself 
preached  to  Abel  and  Abra'ham,  the  glad  tidings  of  the 
work  he  was  to  perform  at  his  first  and  second  personal 
visits  to  the  world.  The  lesson  taught  by  the  law  of  ani- 
mal sacrifice  was  that  when  the  lamb  was  offered,  it 
shadowed  forth  the  fact  that  Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God, 
was  going  to  make  an  oblation  of  himself,  in  order  to 
manifest  his  love,  the  love  of  God  for  man.  Christ 
says  :  "  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man 
lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends."  Hence,  seeing  and  be- 
lieving that  God  would  make  this  immense  sacrificial  of- 
fering, and  which  in  i)urpose,  revelation,  and  i)ractical)ility 
was  already  made,  and  that  Christ  was  to  be  the  Saviour 
to  justify  and  the  Judge  to  condemn,  presents  the  revealed 
doctrine  and  i)hilosophy  of  salvation,  at  which  Ingersoll 


NATURE   DEMONSTRATES   GOD'S   EXISTENCE.       257 

• 

scoffs  and  makes  funny  allusions.  Besides,  there  is  not 
an  instance  on  record  where  God  visited  the  people  with 
pestilence  and  famine  for  refusing  or  neglecting  to  offer 
the  sacrifices  required  by  the  law,  the  penalty  for  which 
was  simply  that  such  were  not  numbered  among  his  peo- 
ple, but  classed  with  infidels  and  unbelievers  in  Christ 
and  his  proposed  work.  Had  God  thus  visited  sinners, 
it  would  have  made  the  present  world  one  of  retribution, 
while  that  work  is  reserved  for  the  judgment  at  the  last 
day,  according  to  the  whole  tenure  of  Scripture. 

''Sometimes,"  he  says,  "the  god  of  the  nation  al- 
lowed some  other  nation  to  drag  them  into  slavery,  to 
sell  their  wives  and  children  [this  was  done  but  once, 
and  then  God  abandoned  the  whole  nation,  who  had  first 
abandoned  him  and  his  service,  his  worship,  and  paid  it 
to  gods  made  by  men.  If  the  sceptics  were  able  to  point 
to  a  single  instance  in  Scripture  where  God  abandoned  a 
nation  or  a  man  before  it  or  he  first  abandoned  him,  it 
would  put  another  face  on  the  whole  subject]  ;  but  gen- 
erally he  glutted  his  vengeance  by  murdering  their  first- 
born. [Here  are  a  number  of  lies :  that  this  was  gen- 
eral, when  it  occurred  but  once  ;  and  that  it  was  his  peo- 
ple for  refusing  to  support  the  priests,  the  fact  being  that 
it  was  visited  upon  the  Egyptians  for  refusing  to  release 
his  people  from  the  four  hundred  years  of  the  most  cruel 
bondage,  killing  all  their  male  children  as  soon  as  they 
were  born,  to  prevent  their  becoming  the  dominant  party 
in  the  nation.]  The  priests  always  did  their  whole 
duty,  not  only  in  predicting  these  calamities,  but  in 
proving,  when  they  did  happen,  that  they  were  brought 
upon  the  people  because  they  had  not  given  quite  enough 
to  them."  There  is  no  such  record  in  the  Scriptures, 
which  adds  another  wanton  lie  to  his  account. 

An  Ignorant  Attempt  to  Account  for  the  Difference  of 
Gods. 

The  scoffer  says:     ''These  gods   differed  just  as  the 
nations  differed  ;   the  greatest  and  most  powerful  had  the 
most  powerful  gods,  while  the  weaker  ones  were  obliged 
8 


258      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURT. 

to  content  themselves  with  the  very  off-scourings  of  the 
heavens  !  "  This  is  a  misstatement  of  the  facts  of  his- 
tory, to  the  effect  that  the  god  of  each  nation  existed  be- 
fore the  nation  ;  that  no  nation  ever  changed  its  gods  ex- 
cept for  the  worship  of  the  hving  and  true  God  ;  that 
every  nation  had  its  childhood  and  was  weak,  but  in  all 
its  periods  had  the  same  gods.  This  man  makes  history 
to  suit  his  iconoclastic  warfare.  Why  should  any  nation 
at  any  period  be  obliged  to  content  itself  with  one  god, 
or  a  weak  god,  as  the  off-scouring  of  heaven,  if  the  ma- 
terial out  of  which  the  people  made  them  was  so  cheap 
and  plentiful  ?  According  to  another  of  his  sayings, 
''  the  heavens  made  gods  and  imposed  them  on  the  peo- 
ple and  nations,"  and  this  contradicts  the  other  saying, 
that  ^'  the  people  made  their  own  gods."  This,  however, 
is  as  well  as  Ingersoll's  jargon  usually  holds  together. 

As  an  example  of  a  weak  people  having  a  strong  god, 
and  showing  also  that  the  people  only  made  shrines  for 
the  gods,  we  introduce  the  following  history  :  Ephesus 
was  once  a  city  of  Greece ;  but  at  the  time  we  are  about 
to  speak,  her  dominion  had  passed  away  and  Rome  was 
her  mistress  ;  but  still  she  worshipped  Diana  as  her  god- 
dess, and  which,  their  tradition  said,  fell  down  from  Jupi- 
ter. Paul  visited  the  city  of  P^ihesus  and  preached  unto 
them  the  gospel  of  the  living  and  true  God,  and  it  made 
a  great  stir,  as  the  following  account  shows  :  "A  certain 
man  named  Demetrius,  a  silversmith,  which  made  silver 
shrines  for  Diana,  which  brought  no  small  gain  unto  the 
craftsmen  ;  whom  he  called  together,  and  said,  Sirs,  ye 
know  that  by  this  craft  we  have  our  wealth.  Moreover, 
ye  see  and  know  that  not  alone  in  Ephesus,  but  almost 
throughout  all  Asia,  this  Paul  hath  preached  and  turned 
away  much  people,  saying  that  they  be  no  gods  which 
are  made  with  hands  ;  so  that  not  only  this  our  craft  is 
in  danger  to  be  set  at  naught,  but  the  tem})le  of  the  great 
goddess  Diana  should  be  despised  and  her  magnificence 
destroyed,  whom  all  Asia  and  the  world  worsliii)i)cth. 
And  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  full  of  wrath,  and 
cried  out,  saying.  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians  !  and 
the   whole   city  was   filled   with  confusion  ;   and  having 


NATURE   DEMONSTRATES   GOD'S   EXISTENCE.     2^9 

caught  Gaius  and  Aristarchus,  men  of  Macedonia,  Paul's 
companions  in  travel,  they  rushed  with  one  accord  into 
the  theatre.  And  when  Paul  would  have  'entered,  the 
disciples  suffered  him  not  to  enter. 

''And  certain  of  the  chief  of  Asia,  which  were  his  friends, 
sent  and  desired  him  not  to  adventure  into  the  theatre. 
Some,  therefore,  cried  one  thing,  and  some  another,  for 
the  assembly  was  confused  [just  as  they  were  in  Booth's 
Theatre  when  they  laughed  and  shouted  at  the  foolish 
things  this  other  silver  lover  said  about  Diana  and  the 
rest  of  the  gods,  from  which  he  also  derived  no  small 
gain,  and  who  himself  was  so  confused  that  he  thought 
the  laughing  was  intended  for  applause].  And  they  drew 
Alexander  out  of  the  multitude,  the  Jews  putting  him 
forth.  And  Alexander  beckoned  with  the  hand,  and 
would  have  made  his  defence.  But  when  they  knew  that 
he  was  a  Jew,  all  with  one  voice  cried  out,  Great  is  Diana 
of  the  Ephesians  ?  And  when  the  town  clerk  had  ap- 
peased the  people,  he  said.  Ye  men  of  Ephesus,  what  man 
is  he  that  knoweth  not  how  that  the  city  of  the  Ephesians 
is  a  worshipper  of  the  great  goddess  Diana,  and  of  the 
image  which  fell  down  from  Jupiter  ?  Seeing  then  that 
these  things  cannot  be  spoken  against,  ye  ought  to  be 
quiet,  and  do  nothing  rashly.  For  ye  have  brought 
hither  these  men,  which  are  neither  robbers  of  churches 
nor  yet  blasphemers  of  your  goddess.  Wherefore,  if 
Demetrius  and  the  craftsmen  which  are  with  him,  have  a 
matter  against  any  man,  the  law  is  open  and  there  are 
deputies  ;  let  them  implead  one  another.  But  if  ye  in- 
quire anything  concerning  other  matters,  it  shall  be  de- 
termined in  a  lawful  assembly  :  for  we  are  in  danger  to  be 
called  in  question  for  this  day's  uproar,  there  being  no 
cause  whereby  we  may  give  account  of  this  concourse. 
And  when  he  had  spoken  thus,  he  dismissed  the  assem- 
bly." (Acts  19.)  Instead  of  each  nation  having  its  own 
god  and  having  made  it,  here  is  Diana,  the  god  of  all  the 
nations  of  Asia,  whether  in  their  independent  strength  or 
subjects  of  the  Roman  Empire,  all  of  whom  worshipped 
this  image  that  fell  down  from  Jupiter  ;  and  we  may  add 
that  there  is  not  in  all  ancient  mythology  as  intelligent 


26o      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

and  consistent  an  account  of  idol  gods  and  worship  as  this 
of  Ephesus,  every  feature  of  which  is  in  contrast  to  Inger- 
soU's  talk  about  the  gods. 

The  Gods  and  Future  Punishment. 

The  magician  says,  ''  Each  of  these  gods  promised  hap- 
piness here  and  hereafter  to  all  his  slaves  [yes,  but  all  the 
world  were  slaves  in  this  sense — all  worshipped  some  god, 
and  there  was  not  an  atheist  living],  and  threatened  to 
eternally  punish  all  who  either  disbelieved  in  his  existence, 
or  suspected  some  other  god  might  be  his  superior.  But 
to  deny  the  existence  of  all  gods  was  and  is  the  crime  of 
all  crimes.  Redden  your  hands  with  human  blood  ;  blast 
by  slander  the  fair  fame  of  the  innocent ;  strangle  the 
smiling  child  upon  its  mother's  knee ;  deceive,  ruin,  and 
desert  the  beautiful  girl  who  loves  and  trusts  you,  and 
your  case  is  not  hopeless.  For  all  this,  and  for  all  these, 
you  may  be  forgiven.  For  all  this  and  for  all  these,  that 
bankrupt  court  established  by  the  gospel  will  give  yon 
discharge ;  but  deny  the  existence  of  these  divine  ghosts 
of  the  gods,  and  the  sweet,  tearful  face  of  mercy  becomes 
livid  with  eternal  hate.  Heaven's  golden  gates  are  shut, 
and  you,  with  an  infinite  curse  ringing  in  your  ears,  and 
the  brand  of  infamy  upon  your  brow,  commence  your 
endless  wanderings  in  the  lurid  gloom  of  hell,  an  immor- 
tal vagrant,  an  eternal  outcast,  a  deathless  convict." 

This  is  what  Ingersoll  calls  dealing  with  subjects  in 
reason.  Intellectually,  we  do  not  call  attention  particu- 
larly to  this  passage  as  lacking  in  reason  and  intellect,  es- 
pecially as  seeming  to  imply  that  other  parts  of  the  lecture 
are  not  thus  defective  ;  but  we  venture  nothing  by  the 
assertion  that  there  never  was  a  lecture  on  record  of  its 
length  so  utterly  devoid  of  reason  :  the  reason  is  soi)histry, 
the  argument  witticism,  and  the  grade  of  intellect  buf- 
foonery. He  says,  "  The  court  established  by  the  gospel 
is  bankrupt."  No  institution  of  trust,  or  of  a  state  which 
has  incurred  liabilities,  is  or  can  be  bankrupt  until  the 
legal  day  for  payment  has  arrived,  and  which  has  then 
repudiated  its   obligations.     Neither  has  the  court  of  a 


NATURE  DEMONSTRATES   GOD's   EXISTENCE.     261 

state  become  bankrupt  until  it  has  become  too  feeble  to 
execute  the  penalties  of  its  laws;  and  this  implies  that  the 
session  of  the  court  has  been  held  and  its  decisions  passed, 
but  no  existing  power  is  able  to  execute  them. 

Is  the  Court  of  the  Gospel  Bankrupt  ? 

One  of  the  principal  events  of  which  the  gospel  is  tid- 
ings is  the  coming  of  a  court  of  rendition — who  is  to  be 
the  judge  ;  what  characters  will  be  acquitted  ;  what  con- 
demned and  executed  ;  the  rules  of  decision ;  and  the 
time  appointed  for  its  session.  The  following  are  a  few 
of  the  passages  of  Scripture  which  give  this  information  : 
''  Forasmuch  then  as  we  are  the  offspring  of  God,  we 
ought  not  to  think  that  the  Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or 
silver,  or  stone,  graven  by  art  and  man's  device.  And 
the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at  [he  was  and  is, 
and  will  continue  the  delay,  the  execution  of  his  law 
upon  the  wicked  until  the  coming  of  this  day],  but  now 
commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent :  because  he 
hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  or- 
dained ;  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men, 
in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead."  (Acts  17  : 
29-31.)  "For  the  Father  judgeth  no  man;  but  hath 
committed  all  judgment  unto  the  Son."  (John  5  :  22.) 
"If  any  man  hear  my  words  and  believeth  not,  I  judge 
him  not  [now  ;  I  wink  at  it,  pass  it  by  now]  ;  for  I  came 
not  [now]  to  judge  the  world  [he  comes  again  for  this 
purpose].  He  that  rejecteth*  me,  and  receive  not  my 
words,  hath  one  that  judgeth  him  :  the  word  that  I  have 
spoken,  the  same  shall  judge  him  in  the  last  day."  (John 
12  :  47,  48.) 

"  For  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ ;  for  it  is  written.  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  every 
knee  shall  bow  to  me,  and  every  tongue  confess  to  God." 
(Rom.  14:10,11.)  "I  charge  thee  therefore,  before  God 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead  at  his  appearing  and  his  kingdom."  (2  Tim. 
4:1.)     "  For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in   the  glory 


262      CONFLICT  OY  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

of  his  Father,  with  his  angels ;  and  then  shall  he  reward 
every  man  according  to  his  works."  (Matt.  i6  :  27.) 
**  Behold,  I  come  quickly  ;  and  my  reward  is  with  me,  and 
my  work  before  me,  to  give  every  man  according  as  his 
work  shall  be."      (Rev.  22  :  12.)  . 

' '  And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  and  him  that  sat  on 
it,  from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away ; 
and  there  was  no  place  found  for  them.  [They  had  been 
dissolved  into  their  original  elements,  as  Isaiah  and  Peter 
declare,  out  of  which  it  is  then  to  be  again  created.] 
And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God ; 
and  the  books  were  opened,  and  another  book  was  opened, 
which  is  the  book  of  life :  and  the  dead  were  judged  out 
of  those  things  which  were  written  in  the  books,  accord- 
ing to  their  works.  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which 
were  in  it ;  and  death  and  hell  [the  hell  of  the  grave] 
delivered  up  the  dead  which  were  in  them  :  and  they 
were  judged  every  man  according  to  their  works.  And 
death  and  hell  [contents  of  the  grave,  who  had  just  been 
raised  to  life]  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  is  the 
second  death.  And  whosoever  was  not  found  written  in 
the  book  of  life  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire."  (Rev. 
20  :  11-15.) 

Court  of  the  Gospel  Condemns  for  Works  of  Omission. 

That  it  may  be  seen  upon  what  principles  and  for  what 
actions  the  coming  judgment  is  to  proceed,  we  quote  the 
following  scene,  at  which  the  Son  of  Man,  Judge  and 
King,  has  come  to  the  earth  to  do  his  appointed  work  of 
trying,  judging,  rewarding  his  servants,  and  punishing 
his  enemies.  ''  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  his 
glory,  before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations  ;  and  he 
shall  separate  them  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  di- 
videth  his  sheep  from  the  goats  :  and  he  shall  set  the 
sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left.  Then 
shall  the  king  say  unto  those  on  his  right  hand,  Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  father,  inherit  the  kingdom  })repared  for 
you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  :  for  I  was  an  hun- 
gered, and  ye  gave  me  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me 


NATURE   DEMONSTRATES   GOD'S   EXISTENCE.     263 

drink  :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in  :  naked,  and 
ye  clothed  me  :  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me  :  I  was  in 
prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  an- 
swer him,  saying,  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  and 
fed  thee  ?  or  thirsty,  and  gave  thee  drink  ?  When  saw  we 
thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in  ?  or  naked,  and  clothed 
thee  ?  Or  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came 
unto  thee  ?  And  the  king  shall  answer,  and  say  unto 
them,  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done 
it  to  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done 
it  unto  me.  Then  shall  he  say  unto  them  on  the  left 
hand.  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire, 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels  :  for  I  was  hungered, 
and  ye  gave  me  no  meat :  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me 
no  drink :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in : 
naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  not :  sick,  and  in  prison,  and 
ye  visited  me  not.  Then  shall  they  also  answer  him, 
saying.  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  or  thirsty, 
or  a  stranger,  or  naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not 
minister  unto  thee  ?  Then  shall  he  answer  them,  saying, 
Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  unto  one 
of  the  least  of  these,  ye  did  it  not  unto  me.  And  these 
shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment ;  but  the  right- 
eous into  life  eternal."      (Matt.  25  :  31-46.) 

This  is  the  court  of  the  gospel,  which,  as  we  see,  is  not 
to  sit  until  the  end  of  this  world  ;  and  it  is  another  of  In- 
gersoll's  blunders  to  declare  it  bankrupt  before  it  attempts 
to  do  its  work.  Of  course,  that  the  court  is  bankrupt  is 
the  man's  only  hope,  hence  his  desire  to  have  it  so  ;  and 
the  foolish  thought,  upon  which  he  seems  to  act,  that  if 
he  can  only  make  all  men  believe  with  him  that  the  court 
is  bankrupt,  why,  so  it  will  be  ;  while  the  only  effect  will 
be  their  identification  with  the  goats  on  the  left  hand  of 
the  Judge  in  the  last  day.  At  this  court  is  promised 
blessed  reward  for  the  kind  and  merciful  acts  of  men,  and 
punishment  to  those  who  have  selfishly  refused  to  perform 
them  upon  Christ's  brethren  ;  and  this  is  the  scoffers'  plea 
for  the  selfish  conduct  of  his  life  toward  Christ  and  his 
people,  and  everyone  can  see  that  the  wish  for  the  bank- 
ruptcy of  his  court  is  father  to  the  thought  and  desire. 


264      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 


God  is  too  Merciful  and  too  U?imerciful,  says  the 
JViseaere. 

This  man  seems  to  hate  God  so  intensely,  that  if  he 
cannot  make  it  appear  from  the  Bible  that  he  is  merciless 
and  cruel,  he  slanders  him  for  being  too  merciful  and  for- 
giving. He  has  given  above  a  list  of  the  dreadful  crimes 
God  will  forgive ;  indeed,  every  crime  but  atheism.  He 
seems  to  be  acting  upon  the  supposition  that  if  he  can 
induce  men  to  disbeheve  in  the  existence  of  God  it  will 
accomplish  every  other  purpose,  and  thus  succeed  in  ruin- 
ing himself  and  fellow-men.  That  we  may  see  the  hate- 
fulness  of  atheism  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  the  reason  for 
it,  let  us  suppose  that  a  thousand  criminals  had  been 
tried  in  our  state  for  crimes  and  doomed  to  die.  Sup- 
pose now,  as  their  last  resort  of  hope,  they  should  appeal 
to  the  governor  for  pardon,  and  he  should  grant  it  to  nine 
hundred  and  ninety-nine,  could  the  one,  because  he  was 
the  ring-leader,  call  the  judge  a  cruel  tryant  ?  Yet  for 
doing  this  very  thing  IngersoU  slanders  the  court  as 
bankrupt,  and  calls  such  talk  reason.  Suppose  the  pris- 
oners, thus  doomed  to  die  and  waiting  the  day  of  execu- 
tion, were  yet  ignorsMit  of  the  merciful  provision  of  law, 
investing  in  the  governor  the  pardoning  power,  and  no 
one  but  IngersoU  to  give  them  the  information,  and  in- 
stead of  doing  it,  which  would  be  preaching  the  gospel 
of  their  salvation,  he  should  go  and  tell  them  there  was 
no  danger,  that  the  court  was  bankrupt  and  unable  to 
execute  the  death-penalty,  and  in  their  ignorance  they 
should  believe  his  lies  until  the  day  of  execution  arrived. 
Suppose,  further,  that  the  qualification  to  induce  them 
to  become  law-abiding  citizens  thereafter  was  the  good- 
ness and  mercy  of  the  governor  shown  in  granting  the 
pardon,  such  love  winning  them  to  love  him  in  turn,  and 
that  the  criminals,  laboring  under  unbelief  because  of  the 
ignorance  in  which  the  scoffer's  lies  had  involved  them, 
had  failed  to  comply  with  the  only  condition  in  which 
the  governor  could  interfere  in  their  behalf.  They  must 
make  personal  application  to  liim  for  pardon,  and  to  con- 


NATURE  DEMONSTRATES   GOD's   EXISTENCE.    265 

done  and  pardon  criminals  without  this  would  not  only 
show  the  court  bankrupt,  but  offer  license  for  continual 
criminality.  Had  Ingersoll  thus  preached  to  these  cul- 
prits the  gospel  of  the  governor's  clemency,  assigning  the 
object  of  the  pardon  to  be  to  induce  them  to  become 
loyal  citizens  thereafter,  connected  with  this  was  the 
necessary  duty  that  the  criminals  were  to  believe  the 
promise  of  the  governor  that  he  would  pardon  them  on 
the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  the  execution  was  to 
take  place.  This  promise  of  life  they  received  by  faith 
during  the  period  after  they  had  complied  with  the  con- 
ditions, and  up  to  the  day  of  the  promised  pardon. 

Here  is  the  philosophy  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  who  cannot  see  that  the  only  effect  of  IngersoU's  lies 
is  the  ruin  of  himself  and  his  fellow-men,  and  in  no  other 
way  can  interfere  with  the  accomplishment  of  God's 
plan,  except  to  delay  it  a  little  longer  so  as  to  give 
others  the  offer  to  take  their  place  and  crowns  ?  and  this 
delay  was  taken  into  the  calculation  in  appointing  the 
day  for  that  of  the  judgment. 

It  is  not  true,  as  Ingersoll  says,  that  the  crime  of  all 
crimes  which  is  not  to  be  forgiven  is  that  of  atheism ;  for 
nowhere  does  the  Scriptures  deny  pardon  to  the  atheist, 
if  he  will  accept  it  upon  the  same  conditions  offered  to 
all  sinners.  The  effect,  however,  of  the  crime  of  saying 
in  his  heart.  There  is  no  God,  and  acting  as  though  there 
was  none,  upon  himself,  renders  his  case  about  hopeless. 
It  is  not  God,  but  the  sin  of  hating  and  abusing  him, 
makes  it  almost  impossible  for  the  man  to  repent  and 
apply  for  mercy  and  pardon  in  the  spirit  of  such  humility 
as  will  alone  beget  love  and  loyalty  to  the  righteous  gov- 
ernment of  God.  It  is  no  more  certain  that  a  man  can- 
not respect  another  whom  he  has  abused,  slandered,  and 
defied  without  cause,  than  that  such  men  can  be  brought 
to  love,  reverence,  and  worship  the  God  whom  they  have 
thus  abused.  One  may  forgive  another  who  has  wronged 
him,  but  he  cannot  forgive  himself  for  wronging  his  best 
friend.  If  repentance  would  do  it,  it  might  be  answered  : 
''What  can  repentance  do,  when  one  cannot  repent  ?  " 
The  punishment  is  not  only  vindictive,  but  consists  in 


266     CONFLICT  OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

loss,  loss  of  character,  loss  of  companionship  with  Christ, 
angels,  and  holy  men,  the  only  qualification  for  the  incor- 
ruptible inheritance  in  the  new  and  eternal  world,  and 
that  of  immortal  life.  This  is  the  fatal  bankruptcy  in 
which  both  the  neglecters  and  defamers  of  God  and  his 
gospel  are  involved,  and  from  that  day  it  is  without  rem- 
edy. It  is  at  the  judgment  of  the  last  day,  where  and 
when  the  victims  of  Ingersoll's  lectures  and  writings  will 
be  forced  to  answer  the  question  which  they  themselves 
will  ask,  ''  What  is  a  man  advantaged,  if  he  shall  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  himself,  or  be  cast  away?" 
(Luke  9:  25.) 

The  only  arbitrary  feature  in  the  whole  revealed  plan 
of  God,  is  in  limiting  the  opportunity  to  the  present  hfe, 
in  which  men  may  obtain  the  necessary  fitness  of  charac- 
ter for  the  incorruptible  inheritance  and  its  associations, 
and  the  whole  period  to  the  duration  of  the  present 
world.  But  of  this  they  are  forewarned,  thus:  "Be- 
hold !  I  come  quickly;  and  my  reward  is  with  me,  and 
my  work  before  me,  to  give  to  every  man  according  as 
his  work  shall  be.  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust 
still ;  and  he  which  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still ;  and 
he  that  is  righteous,  let  him  be  righteous  still ;  and  he 
that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still."  (Rev.  22  :  11,  12.) 
Now  apply  to  Ingersoll,  who  has  been  the  cause  of  this 
calamity  upon  thousands,  the  charge  whether  atheism  is 
not  the  crime  of  crimes.  The  loss  of  salvation  is  damna- 
tion, whatever  that  word  may  mean,  just  as  the  loss  of 
life  is  death,  whether  temporal  or  eternal:  ''The  soul 
that  sinneth  it  shall  die."  (?2zek.  18  :  20.)  ''  The  wages 
of  sin  is  death."  (Rom.  6:  23.)  "  He  that  believeth  not 
the  Son  [his  i)romises  and  threatenings,  his  words]  shall 
not  see  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 
(John  3  :  36.)  The  sin  of  Ingersoll  is  atheism ;  and  we  can 
account  for  his  terrible  characterization  of  its  turjjitude 
only  upon  the  hyjjothesis  of  his  approximating  a  just  ap- 
]>rehension  of  its  nature  and  the  punishment  in  justice  it 
merits. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

INGERSOLLISM    CULMINATES    IN    TEN    ABSURDITIES. 

*'If  we  abandon  the  doctrine  that  some  infinite  being 
created  matter  and  force,  and  enacted  a  code  of  laws  for 
their  government,  the  idea  of  interference  will  be  lost." 
So  says  the  Oracle.  If  he  or  any  other  man  ever  had  the 
evidence — and  to  have  been  such,  it  must  have  been 
founded  upon  known  facts — it  would  have  been  impossi- 
ble to  have  abandoned  it ;  and  if  he  or  they  never  had 
such  evidence,  they  could  not  have  abandoned  it,  as  they 
could  not  have  abandoned  that  which  they  never  pos- 
sessed !     This  is  absurdity  No.  i. 

Force  is  matter  in  motion,  and  originates  in  mind. 
IngersoU  supposes  we  can  abandon  this  fact ;  but  if  we 
abandon  it,  we  abandon  the  existence  of  force  and  that 
of  matter  in  motion.  This  is  absurdity  No.  2.  Says 
this  wonderful  scientist  :  "  The  real  priest  will  then  not 
be  the  mouthpiece  of  some  pretended  deity,  but  the  in- 
terference of  nature."  Laws  for  the  government  of 
nature  exist  in  nature,  every  one  of  which  is  an  incorpo- 
ration with  the  substance  governed.  Nature  is  her  own 
interpreter,  and  the  testimony  she  gives  is  that  there  is  a 
cause  superior  to  me,  and  to  which  I  owe  my  existence 
and  all  my  phenomena  ;  everything  from  the  falling  of  a 
leaf  to  the  ruling  of  a  world  within  my  vast  dominion  are 
effects — I  am  all  effect.  And  Ingersollism  supposes  effects 
came  without  cause.     This  is  absurdity  No.  3. 

He  says:  *' From  that  moment  the  church  ceases  to 
exist."  The  existence  of  the  church  depends  upon  her 
knowledge  of  God,  based  upon  that  derived  from  the  two 
revelations  of  nature  and  Scripture.  Can  knowledge  be- 
come no  knowledge  ?  which  is  the  supposition  here  enter- 
tained.    This  is  absurdity  No.  4.      "  The  tapers  will  die 


268      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

out  upon  the  dusty  altar  ;  the  moths  will  eat  the  fading 
velvet  of  pulpit  and  pew.  The  Bible  will  take  its  place 
with  the  Shastras,  Puranas,  Vedas,  Eddas,  Sagas,  and 
Koran,  and  the  fetters  of  degrading  faith  will  fall  from 
the  minds  of  men."  Here  he  virtually  says  all  this 
will  happen  if  we  abandon  the  scientific  and  philosophic 
necessity  for  the  creation  of  the  world,  and,  therefore,  for 
the  prior  existence  of  the  Creator.  It  is  as  though  he 
had  said,  ''  If  we  abandon  the  fact  of  gravity,  there  will 
then  be  no  gravity."  This  prince  of  sagacity  does  not 
know  that  there  is  a  God,  or  that  he  interfered  to  con- 
struct the  principles,  laws  of  nature.  If,  therefore,  he 
abandons  his  ignorance  upon  these  subjects  by  becoming 
enlightened,  which  he  must  do  if  he  abandons  anything, 
why,  that  will  be  the  last  of  the  church.  This  is  absurd- 
ity No.  5. 

His  classification  of  the  Bible  with  these  heathen  fables, 
which  at  best  are  its  traditionary  corruptions,  is  absurdity 
No.  6.  "If  we  admit  that  some  infinite  being  has  con- 
trolled the  destinies  of  persons  and  peoples,  history  be- 
comes a  cruel  and  bloody  farce."  If  we  deny  the  control 
of  the  Emperor  Nero,  then  the  history  of  blood  of  that 
period  did  not  exist ;  a  theoretic  denial  or  admission  can 
change  the  bloody  history  of  the  world.  The  fact  is  that 
the  history  of  the  world  has  been  one  of  cruelty  and 
blood,  and  if  we  deny  that  an  infinite  being  controlled  it, 
why,  that  would  make  it  a  beautiful  farce,  or  one  of  serene 
peace.  This  is  absurdity  No.  7.  ''Age  after  age  the 
strong  have  trampled  upon  the  weak,  the  crafty  and  the 
heartless  have  ensnared  and  enslaved  the  sim})le  and  inno- 
cent ;  and  nowhere,  in  all  the  annals  of  mankind,  has  any 
God  succored  the  oppressed.  Man  should  cease  to  expect 
aid  from  on  high.  By  this  time  he  should  know  that  heaven 
has  no  ear  to  hear,  and  no  hand  to  hel})."  IngersoU  has 
told  us  that  he  has  read  the  Bii)le.  If  he  had,  did  he  not 
see  it  recorded  in  its  annals  that  its  (jod  delivered  the 
oppressed  Hebrew  nation  from  the  Egyptian  i)owerful 
oppressor  and  from  that  of  every  other  nation,  as  long  as 
they  obeyed  his  laws.  So  proud  and  averse  to  the  ways 
of  God  are  mankind,  that  not  one  of  them  ever  applied  to 


TEN  ABSURDITIES   OF  INGERSOLLISM.        269 

God  for  aid  until  every  other  source  of  help  and  happi- 
ness had  been  tried  and  failed,  and  even  in  such  extrem- 
ities multitudes  have  applied  and  received  present  aid ; 
while  all  who  have  applied  upon  the  conditions  the  pro- 
prietor proposed,  received  information  which  encouraged 
them  to  bear  the  cruelties,  even  of  personal  torture  and 
death  ;  which  was  to  the  effect  of  promising  them  an  in- 
heritance in  his  coming  endless  world,  wherein  they  were 
to  be  brought  by  a  resurrection  to  life  immortal. 

This  hope  gave  the  intelligent  contentment  and  joy  a 
family  would  experience  while  living  in  a  mere  hut  of  a 
house,  about  ready  to  tumble  down,  but  who  had  a 
beautiful  marble  mansion  almost  finished  for  its  occupa- 
tion. To  deprive  them  of  this  aid  from  on  high  is  the 
diabolical  work  of  Ingersoll  and  his  fellow-atheists.  This 
is  absurdity  No.  8.  *'  The  present  is  the  necessary 
child  of  the  past.  There  is  no  chance,  and  there  can  be 
no  interference."  By  no  interference  he  means  there 
has  been  no  creation  of  the  world,  the  antithesis  of  which 
is  that  all  things  came  by  chance,  or  they  did  not  come 
at  all,  and  nothing  exists.  Here  Ingersoll  puts  himself  in 
contradiction  to  all  other  atheists  of  the  world,  and 
equally  to  all  modern  scientists,  who  claim  that  all  things 
did  come  into  existence  either  by  evolution  or  creation  ; 
and  yet  he  professes  to  adopt  the  doctrines  of  these  very 
scientists.  According  to  Ingersollism,  therefore,  the 
world  was  not  created,  did  not  come  by  chance,  nor  by 
evolution,  and  it  was  not  eternal.  This  is  presumptu- 
ous absurdity  No.  9. 

That  Ingersoll  fails  to  comprehend  the  argument  of 
interference  or  chance  [perfect  opposites],  that  they  came 
into  existence,  and  did  not  come  into  existence,  presents 
an  insight  into  the  most  muddled  brain  of  all  the  public 
characters  of  the  world  ;  and  gives  the  crowning  absurdity 
No.  10. 

The  A7'chsceptic  Quarrels  with  Nature. 

"  What  would  we  think  of  a  father  who  should  give  a 
farm  to  his  children,  who  should  first  plant  upon  it  thou- 
sands of  deadly   shrubs  and  vines,  stock   it   with  fero- 


270      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

cioiis  beasts  and  poisonous  reptiles,  put  a  few  swamps  in 
the  neighborhood  to  breed  malaria ;  should  so  arrange 
matters  that  the  ground  would  occasionally  open  and 
swallow  up  a  few  of  his  darlings  ;  establish  a  few  volca- 
noes in  the  immediate  vicinity  that  might  at  any  mo- 
ment overwhelm  his  children  with  fire?  Sui)pose  the 
father  should  have  neglected  to  tell  his  children  which  of 
the  plants  were  deadly,  that  the  reptiles  were  poisonous  ; 
failed  to  say  anything  about  the  earthquakes,  and  kept 
the  volcano  business  a  profound  secret — would  we  pro- 
nounce him  angel  or  fiend?  And  yet  this  is  exactly 
what  the  orthodox  God  has  done."  We  may  remark 
that  we  have  no  God  to  defend,  and  if  such  a  duty  de- 
pended upon  us,  the  defence  would  be  like  that  an  in- 
fant might  make  in  behalf  of  his  grandsire.  No  !  if 
Crod  cannot  defend  his  acts,  then  man  nor  angel  can  do 
it.  The  highest  qualification  of  man  is  his  ability  to 
study  and  understand  God's  two  great  books  of  nature 
and  Scripture,  which  together  give  the  facts  and  reasons 
for  all  his  works,  and  answer  the  i)rayer  of  John  Milton, 
offered  while  contemplating  these  great  subjects  : 

**What  in  me  is  dark,  illumine  ; 
What  is  low,  raise  and  support  ; 
That  to  the  height  of  this  great  argument, 
I  may  assert  eternal  Providence, 
And  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man." 

To  give  the  facts  without  the  reasons  for  all  the  works 
of  God,  as  IngersoU  has  done  in  this  passage,  is  to  vilify 
and  belie  the  Father  and  Maker  of  man.  We  accept 
the  picture,  and  do  not  think  it  too  highly  drawn.  We 
also  acknowledge  that  the  God  who  created  the  world  is 
the  Author  of  all  these  evils,  no  matter  whether  he  is 
called  the  God  of  Scrii)ture,  the  God  of  nature,  or  the 
orthodox  God.  Another  important  lesson  taught  by 
these  calamities  which  befall  man  is  that  this  God  is  not 
such  a  sentimental,  pusillanimous  being  that  he  will  not 
hurt  his  creatures  or  let  them  suffer  for  a  pur])Ose.  It 
should  also  be  remembered  that  there  is  not  a  pang  of 
pain  on  this  planet  btit  which  results  from  the  violation 


TEN   ABSURDITIES   OF   INGERSOLLISM.        27 1 

of  some  law,  either  natural,  moral,  or  religious,  all  of 
which  God  is  the  Author,  and  knew  these  consequences 
when  he  made  the  laws ;  in  fact,  were  necessary  accom- 
paniments of  his  work  with  man  and  the  world,  of  all  of 
which  the  Great  Father  gave  his  children  timely  informa- 
tion. If  we  admit  the  charge  that  this  God  is  a  tyrant, 
a  fiend,  even  then  he  should  be  obeyed,  though  he  could 
not  be  loved.  What  madness  and  folly  to  make  war  upon 
our  Maker  because  he  does  not  do  everything  to  suit  our 
notions,  as  though  we  could  overcome,  overpower  him. 

God' s  Vindication  for  Introducing  Natural  EviL 

Let  us  suppose  a  father  had  two  children — man  and 
wife — Adam  and  Eve  ;  and  before  they  lived  he  made  a 
beautiful  farm  for  them.  It  was  an  island  in  the  midst  of 
the  sea,  and  without  a  barren  rock,  or  bluff  shore  ;  of  an 
undulating  surface,  all  covered  with  deep  luxurious  soil. 
It  was  harvest  time  when  they  were  given  possession,  and 
every  tree  was '  loaded  with  ripe,  luscious  fruit :  there 
was  not  a  poisonous  plant  on  the  island.  The  father  had 
made  every  kind  of  cattle  and  animals  for  the  use  £tnd 
pleasure  of  his  children — not  one  had  a  disposition  to 
hurt  another  ;  and  to  those  children  were  given  the  do- 
minion over  all.  There  were  beautiful  streams,  rivers, 
and  placid  lakes  filled  with  tame  and  splendid  fishes.  All 
the  variety  of  plumaged  birds  played  and  sang  among  the 
trees,  and  the  fowl  sported  amid  the  beauteous  verdure, 
rich  foliage,  and  spicy  groves  of  the  island  garden.  The 
air  was  so  harmoniously  blended  in  chemical  composi- 
tion and  temperature  that  rendered  its  motion,  except  as 
a  fanning,  mild  zephyr,  impossible.  So  symmetrically 
were  the  strata  laid  beneath  the  soil,  that  no  pent-up 
gases  could  form,  and  therefore  no  earthquakes  as  results 
existed. 

In  addition  to  this  lovely  environment  there  was  a  cer- 
tain tree  whose  fruit  was  of  such  a  chemical  composition 
as  to  counteract  the  ossifying  tendency  of  the  human  sys- 
tem, that  which  we  call  the  effect  of  age,  by  partaking  of 
which  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  might  perpetuate  their 


272      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

life  indefinitely,  indeed  live  forever.  In  view  of  this  re- 
lation, and  giving  these  children  possession  of  the  whole 
island,  he  naturally  and  reasonably  wished  them  to  please 
and  obey  him.  They  were  created  with  power  to  obey, 
and  this  carried  with  it  the  power  to  disobey.  But 
either  of  these  rendered  a  law  and  its  revelation  a  neces- 
sity— something  must  be  permitted,  and  something  must 
be  forbidden  ;  and  the  latter  must  be  that  which  they 
did  not  need  to  do,  or  the  temptation  would  have  been 
an  element  of  weakness,  and  with  such  a  defect  the 
Creator  could  not  have  pronounced  their  nature  "very 
good."  That  they  might  learn  obedience,  the  father 
said.  Children  !  I  have  given  you  this  beautiful  island 
home,  and  you  may  freely  use  all  it  contains  for  your 
gratification  with  the  exception  of  the  fruit  of  a  single 
tree,  which  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  garden  ;  of  that 
you  must  neither  touch  nor  eat.  This  was  the  law,  and 
a  law  without  a  penalty  or  execution,  if  violated,  is  a 
farce,  and  especially  impossible  for  this  father  to  enact 
and  pronounce.  Hence  he  said  :  "In  the  day  thou  eat- 
est  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die. ' '  AVhen  the  father  had 
thus  spoken,  he  retired,  leaving  the  happy  couple  to 
themselves.  But  notwithstanding  all  this  munificence 
and  manifestation  of  love,  with  the  blessed  gift  of  life, 
and  everything  adapted  to  make  it  one  of  perpetual  hap- 
piness, these  children  most  wantonly  disobeyed  their  lov- 
ing father,  dishonoring  him  in  the  most  aggravating 
manner,  by  obeying  his  enemy,  another  of  his  creatures 
like  themselves,  though  they  were  under  no  obligation  to 
do  him  service. 

The  design  the  father  had  in  view,  in  the  creation  of 
the  island,  was  to  populate  it  with  children  who  would 
be  eternally  loyal  to  his  commands,  loving  him  and  his 
government.  Although  these  children,  the  ])arents  of  all 
future  generations  of  the  island,  had  thus  offended  and 
died,  yet  it  in  nowise  baffled  the  great  puq:)0se  or  in- 
duced him  to  change  his  plan ;  but  only  rendered  a 
greater  number  of  generations  to  be  born  a  necessity, 
from  among  whom  the  recjuisite  number  of  such  subjects 
would  be  induced  to  become  such  by  the  offer  of  an  in- 


TEN  ABSURDITIES   OF   INGERSOLLISM.        273 

heritance  in  the  same  island,  re-created  and  beautified  for 
the  purpose,  but  which  would  never  have  an  end,  and 
from  which  the  whole  family  of  the  unlovely  and  disobe- 
dient would  be  forever  excluded.  But  so  few  compara- 
tively in  each  successive  generation  would  accept  the  in- 
heritance upon  the  conditions  it  was  or  would  be  offered, 
that  it  became  necessary  to  subject  both  the  good  and 
bad  of  each  generation  to  removal  by  death,  the  one 
after  they  had  rejected  the  offer  of  the  island  home,  in 
order  to  give  place  to  others  of  human  born,  who,  the 
father  foresaw,  would  accept  the  offer  by  complying  with 
the  conditions. 

The  Philosophy  of  Future  Existence. 

The  introduction  of  death  rendered  a  resurrection, 
which  is  equivalent  to  a  re-creation  of  these  destined  sub- 
jects, a  necessity,  and  to  take  place  when  the  complement 
was  full.  Christ  was  the  resurrection  and  the  life  for  the 
dead  saints,  all  of  whom  died  in  the  faith  and  hope  of  its 
accomplishment.  Hence  the  record  in  which  their 
names  were  registered  was  called  "the  Lamb's  book  of 
life,"  at  the  head  of  w^hose  first  page  stood  the  name  of 
Abel.  Nothing  is  more  reasonable  than  that  the  father 
of  this  family  should  desire  the  completion  of  the  great 
work  in  the  shortest  time  its  nature  would  admit.  The 
father  informs  the  first  two  men  born  into  the  world  of 
this  purpose  ;  preaches  the  gospel  to  Cain  and  Abel.  One 
believes  and  dies  a  martyr  to  his  faith ;  the  other  refuses 
to  offer  the  lamb,  and  thus  rejects  Christ,  becomes  an 
infidel,  hates,  persecutes,  and  kills  his  brother.  That 
men  may  become  dissatisfied  with  the  island  garden,  and 
easier  induced  to  sacrifice  its  small  pleasures  for  an  in- 
heritance in  its  re-creation,  the  father  curses  the  very 
ground  that  henceforth  it  should  bring  forth  briers, 
thistles,  thorns,  and  poisonous  plants,  and  to  be  overrun 
with  troublesome  weeds,  in  consequence  of  which  it  will 
be  said  :  "By  the  sweat  of  thy  face  thou  shalt  eat  bread 
all  the  days  of  thy  life."  Thus,  for  sixteen  hundred 
years  was  the  new  island  gospel  preached,  and  converts 


274      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

made.  Now  a  generation  had  come  into  existence  who, 
notwithstanding  these  physical  evils,  lov(?d  the  present 
world  so  much  that  although  the  father  sent  them  a 
l)reacher  of  righteousness,  by  the  name  of  Noah,  who  pro- 
claimed the  gospel  of  the  re-created  island  for  a  hundred 
and  twenty  years,  yet  failed  to  make  a  single  convert. 
The  father  had  not  obtained  the  number  of  loving  in- 
habitants for  his  permanent  government.  This  forced 
the  alternative  of  abandoning  his  purpose,  or  of  destroy- 
ing the  whole  generation  of  his  rebellious  children,  and 
of  commencing  anew  ;  and  he  had  resolved  on  the  latter, 
and  gave  the  warning  for  this  long  period. 

The  original  curse  produced  so  little  physical  de- 
rangement that  the  members  of  the  family  lived  an  aver- 
age age  of  five  hundred  years,  and  every  generation 
before  this  had  died  a  natural  death,  while  the  life  of  this 
one  was  cut  short  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  by  the 
flood.  By  this  catastrophe  the  whole  crust  of  the  earth  was 
broken  up,  and  three-fourths  of  its  surface  left  covered 
with  briny  oceans;  a  large  portion  of  the  rest  with 
swamps,  sending  up  malaria;  huge  rocky  mountains, 
thrown  up  by  the  convulsion  ;  deep  chasms,  left  by  sunken 
continents,  filled  with  seas,  which  till  then 'had  been 
buried  in  the  heart  of  the  circling  earth.  This  vast  de- 
rangement laid  the  foundation  for  volcanoes  and  earth- 
quakes, and  all  the  fearful  meteorological  phenomena  of 
the  heavens  since  witnessed.  The  effect  of  this  was  to 
render  the  climates  of  the  earth  so  unhealthy  that  the 
period  of  human  life  was  cut  down  to  three  score  and  ten 
years,  and  by  the  progress  of  the  derangement  growing 
still  shorter,  until  the  present  generation  is  but  about 
thirty  years. 

TJie  Earth  Doomed  to  a  Universal  Conflagration. 

The  history  of  the  island,  given  in  advance  and  written 
in  a  book  dictated  by  the  father  of  this  family,  shows  it  is 
destined  to  pass  through  a  universal  conflagration.  This 
history  also  shows  that  the  wickedness  of  each  generation 
will  increase  until  the  last,  which  will  become  as  godless 


TEN   ABSURDITIES   OF   INGERSOLLISM.        275 

and  defiant  at  the  commands  of  God,  and  as  unbelieving 
in  relation  to  the  coming  end,  as  that  which  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  flood,  to  which  Christ  testifies  as  follows : 
' '  But  as  the  days  of  Noah  were,  so  shall  also  the  coming 
of  the  Son  of  Man  be :  for  as  in  the  days  that  were  be- 
fore the  flood,  they  were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying 
and  giving  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noah  entered 
into  the  ark,  and  knew  not  until  the  flood  came  and  took 
them  all  away ;  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of 
Man  be."  (Matt.  24:36-39.)  As  then,  this  state  of 
sin  and  general  unbelief  is  assigned  as  the  reason  for  the 
second  destruction  of  the  world.  But  when  this  condi- 
tion of  things  arrives  the  number  of  loving,  loyal  inhab- 
itants for  his  new  island  farm  will  be  complete.  The 
father  comes  again  to  the  island,  resurrects  his  saints, 
takes  them  above  the  heavens,  that  they  may  be  uninjured 
by  the  conflagration  and  re-creation.  After  this  work  is 
accomplished,  he  then  comes  with  his  angels  and  immortal 
saints,  takes  and  holds  eternal  possession.  There  is  not  a 
child  in  all  the  family  who  will  be  excluded  from  the 
island,  when  made  new,  who  had  not  deliberately  rejected 
the  merciful  and  gracious  offer  of  its  possession ;  not  one 
can  rise  up  in  court  and  make  a  righteous  defence,  and  all 
will  have  an  opportunity.  The  father  himself  will  put  in 
a  defence  against  the  accusations  of  his  disloyal  children 
in  order  to  justify  himself  before  his  faithful  sons  and 
daughters,  and  show  both  classes  that  he  had  done  what 
was  consistent  for  him  to  do,  to  induce  all  to  love  and 
obey  him.  Hence  it  is  written:  "That  every  tongue 
may  be  stopped,  and  all  the  world  become  guilty  before 
God." 

The  little  children  of  every  generation  will  be  there, 
whether  of  Christian  or  heathen  parentage.  Instead  of 
the  lost  ones  being  the  dear  children  of  their  heavenly 
Father,  as  those  of  the  farmer  of  IngersoU's  illustration, 
they  evinced  no  love,  no  sympathy  for  their  God  and 
Father.  On  the  contrary,  every  one  of  them  did  his  best, 
both  by  precept  and  example,  to  expel  God  from  his 
world  ;  every  one  of  them  joined  in  heart  in  the  cry  of 
the  rejection  of  Christ,   their  rightful   Lord,    King  and 


2/6      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Saviour:  ''Away  with  him,  he  is  not  fit  to  hve."  Even 
Ingersoll,  with  the  mahgnity  of  a  devil,  after  drawing  his 
picture  of  human  suffering,  asks  :  ' '  Did  a  god  or  fiend 
do  this  ?  "  To  what  purpose  can  the  Father  appropriate 
such  children  ?  How  could  they  answer  any  end  that  by 
any  possibihty  could  be  pleasing  to  him?  What  kind  of 
salvation  even  would  it  be  to  such  were  they  admitted 
into  his  palace  and  presence,  with  every  feeling  of  their 
heart  revolting  against  his  will  and  government  ?  What 
kind  of  heaven  would  it  be  where  such  men  as  Ingersoll 
and  Paine  lived  ?  How  would  it  rouse  the  ire  of  such 
proud  hearts  to  behold  Jesus  Christ  adored  by  angels  and 
the  whole  multitude  of  glorified  immortals  ?  No  !  If  they 
were  alive  they  would  rush  from  such  presence  and  such 
employment,  even  into  outer  darkness,  seeking  natural 
companionship  with  kindred  devils.  No  !  The  exclusion 
of  the  wicked  from  God  and  his  presence  lies  not  so  much 
in  arbitrary  enactments  as  in  the  very  nature  and  fitness 
of  things.  ''  How  can  two  dwell  together  except  they 
be  agreed  ?  "  It  is  the  philosophy  of  the  mind  in  thinking 
and  willing,  the  heart  in  feeling,  and  the  cherished  habits 
of  life,  that  raises  the  barrier,  that  digs  the  impassable 
gulf  between  God  and  sinners.  Every  student  of  Script- 
ure will  see  that  the  picture  we  have  drawn  is  but  a 
transcription  of  the  revealed  purpose  and  plan  of  God  with 
man  and  the  world,  while  that  of  Ingersoll's,  giving  the 
facts  without  the  reasons,  is  a  monstrous  effusion  of  igno- 
rance and  blasphemy.  "A  prudent  man  foreseeth  the 
evil,  and  hideth  himself;  but  the  simple  pass  on,  and  are 
punished."      (Prov.   22:3.) 

The  Sceptic' s  Arroi::ance  :  he  would  have  made  a  Better 
World. 

Says  he  :  "A  very  pious  friend  of  mine,  having  heard 
that  I  had  said  the  world  was  full  of  imperfections,  asked 
me  if  the  report  was  true.  Upon  being  informed  that  it 
was,  he  exi)ressed  great  surprise  that  anyone  could  be 
guilty  of  such  presumi)tion.  He  said  that  in  his  judg- 
ment it  was  impossible  to  point  out  an  imperfection.     Be 


TEN  ABSURDITIES   OF   INGERSOLLISM.        277 

kind  enough,  said  he,  to  name  an  improvement  that  you 
could  make,  if  you  had  the  power.  Well,  I  said,  I  would 
make  health  catching,  instead  of  disease."  Yes  !  his 
pious  friend,  in  short,  might  have  rejoined  ;  but  if  the 
proprietor  had  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  as  neces- 
sary to  the  acco..iplishment  of  his  purpose  of  making  an 
eternal  world  of  li.*:  and  perfect  exemption  from  disease, 
and  were  you  the  proprietor,  you  could  not  have  carried 
out  the  appointment  had  you  made  perpetual  health  in 
this  world  the  order  of  things,  the  order  of  nature.  But 
if  any  one  expects  IngersoU  to  see  more  than  one  side  of 
any  question  involved  in  these  subjects,  he  will  be  disap- 
pointed. He  continues  thus  :  '^  The  truth  is,  it  is  im- 
possible to  harmonize  all  the  ills,  pains,  and  agonies  of  the 
world  with  the  idea  that  we  are  created,  watched  over, 
and  protected  by  an  infinitely  wise,  powerful,  and  be- 
neficent God,  who  is  superior  to  and  independent  of  nat- 
ure." The  reason  these  things  cannot  be  harmonized  in 
Ingersoll's  estimation  is  his  erroneous  idea  that  the  pre- 
sent world  is  a  Theocracy,  or  that  God  in  Scripture  claims 
it  to  be  such,  which  would  make  all  men  loyal  subjects  of 
his  government ;  the  fact  being  that  every  adult  is  at 
heart  and  spirit  opposed  to  it,  and  the  vast  majority  re- 
main thus  during  their  natural  life,  and  God  understands 
all  about  their  rebellious  nature.  Upon  the  question  we 
have  such  information  as  the  following:  "  Lo,  this  only 
have  I  found,  that  God  made  man  upright;  but  they 
have  sought  out  many  inventions."  (Ecc.  7  :  29.)  The 
world  is  represented  as  being  under  the  reign  of  sin  and 
death,  and  that  the  world  itself  is  the  object  of  man's 
love  and  worship,  instead  of  God  his  Creator:  ''They 
love  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator."  Thus  have 
they  made  a  god  of  the  world  itself:  "  The  god  of  this 
world  hath  blinded  the  minds  of  them  that  believe  not, 
lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the 
image  of  God,  should  shine  unto  them.  But  if  our  gos- 
pel be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost."  (2  Cor.  4  : 
3,  4.)  The  inhabitants  of  the  present  "evil  world,"  as 
it  is  called,  are  in  open  revolt  against  the  laws  and 
government  of  God  as  he  would  and  will  have  it  in  his 


278      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

coming  new  world,  and  there  is  not  a  pang  of  human 
suffering  but  which  results  from  the  ignorant  or  wilful 
violation  of  moral,  religious,  and  physical  law,  and  all  the 
ignorance  and  sin  has  been  transmitted  by  the  precepts 
and  example  of  sinners.  In  fact,  God  does  not  even  pro- 
pose to  protect  and  provide  the  necessaries  of  life  for  his 
own  loving  children  in  the  present  world,  millions  of 
whom  have  starved  for  the  want  of  food.  In  fact  the 
loving,  loyal  children  of  God  have  suffered  in  the  present 
world  more  than  the  "  lovers  of  the  world,"  and  they 
were  forewarned  of  this  before  they  became  his  disciples. 
Said  their  Master  :  ''  The  time  will  come  when  he  that 
killeth  you  will  think  that  he  doeth  God  service.  And 
ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  nations  for  my  name's  sake ;  but 
not  a  hair  of  your  head  shall  perish,  for  I  will  raise  it  up 
at  the  last  day." 

This  cruelty  was  inflicted  upon  them  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world.  Abel  lost  his  life  for  obeying  his 
Lord.  "  They  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance  ; 
that  they  might  obtain  a  better  resurrection.  Others  had 
trial  of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgings  ;  yea,  moreover, 
of  bonds  and  imprisonments.  They  were  stoned,  sawn 
asunder,  tempted,  slain  with  the  edge  of  the  sword  ;  they 
wandered  about  in  sheep-skins  and  goat-skins ;  being 
destitute,  afflicted,  tormented  ;  of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy  ;  they  wandered  in  deserts,  and  in  mountains, 
and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.  These  all  having 
obtained  a  good  re]jort  through  faith,  received  not  the 
promise  [things  promised],  but  died  in  the  faith  and  hope 
of  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day."  (Heb.  ii  :  35-39.) 
God  has  subjected  the  whole  world,  including  his  right- 
eous children,  to  the  sufferings  and  physical  derangements 
to  which  Ingersoll  refers  ;  so  that  by  the  mouth  of  the 
l)roi)het  he  declares  :  ''  The  curse  hath  devoured  the 
earth,"  and  under  which  it  is  doomed  to  groan  until  God 
redeems  it  for  his  children.  With  this  ])rospect  lying  be- 
fore them  we  have  such  language  as  the  following  :  ''  And 
if  children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs 
with  Christ;  if  so  be  we  suffer  with  him,  that  we  may 
be  also  glorified  together.     For  I  reckon  that  the  suffer- 


TEN   ABSURDITIES   OF   INGERSOTXISM.        2/9 

ings  of  the  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us  ;  for  the 
earnest  expectation  of  the  creature  waiteth  for  the  mani- 
festation of  the  sons  of  God.  For  the  creature  was  made 
subject  to  vanity  [liable  to  have  been  made  in  vain,  not 
answering  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  made],  not 
willingly,  but  by  reason  of  him,  who  hath  subjected  the 
same  in  hope  ;  because  the  creature  itself  shall  be  de- 
livered from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  into  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  For  we  know  that  the 
whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together 
until  now.  And  not  only  they,  but  ourselves  also, 
which  have  the  first-fruits  of  the  spirit,  even  we  ourselves 
groan  within  ourselves,  waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit, 
the  redemption  of  our  body, "      (Rom.  8:    17,  1 8.) 

God  did  not  willingly  subject  the  world  to  this  de- 
rangement ;  but  by  the  losses  thus  sustained  men  would 
more  easily  be  induced  to  seek  an  inheritance  in  his  new 
creation.  He  thus  subjected  it  in  hope.  Its  language  is, 
''  Cursed  is  the  ground y^r  thy  sake.''  Christ  gave  John 
a  prefiguration  of  it  as  he  saw  it  would  be  and  appear 
when  made  new,  and  his  redeemed  children  had  taken 
•possession,  and  for  whose  encouragement  he  w^as  directed 
to  write  thus:  "And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
earth ;  for  the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed 
away ;  and  there  was  no  more  sea  [this  shows  that  the 
sea,  now  covering  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  earth's 
surface,  was  a  part  of  the  curse — the  second  curse,  that  of 
the  flood].  And  I  John  saw  the  holy  city.  New  Jerusalem 
[capital  city  of  the  new  world,  ''the  city  of  the  great 
King"],  coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared 
as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  And  I  heard  a 
great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying,  Behold  !  the  tabernacle 
of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and 
they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with 
them,  and  be  their  God.  And  God  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  their  eyes ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death : 
neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any 
more  pain  ;  for  the  former  things  are  pa.ssed  away.  And 
there  shall  be  no  more  curse.     And  he  that  sat  upon  the 


280      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

throne  said,  Behold,  I  make  all  things  new.  And  he 
said  unto  me.  Write  ;  for  these  words  are  true  and  faithful. 
And  he  said  unto  me,  It  is  done  I  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end.  He  that  overcometh 
shall  inherit  all  things ;  and  I  will  be  his  God,  and  he 
shall  be  my  son."  (Rev.  21  and  22.)  Here,  Jesus  that 
was  dead  is  the  God  of  all  the  immortal  saints. 

''Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them.  If  a  man  love 
me,  he  will  keep  my  words ;  and  my  Father  will  love 
him,  and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode 
with  him."  (John  14:23.)  ''In  my  Father's  house 
are  many  mansions ;  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told 
you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go  and 
prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive 
you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be 
also."  (John  14:  2,  3.)  Here,  Christ  and  his  Father, 
who  are  "one,"  has  come,  according  to  his  promise, 
and  brought  the  mansions  with  him — the  New  Jerusalem — 
and  has  taken  his  abode,  made  his  dwelling  place,  on  the 
earth  and  among  men,  safe,  because  beyond  the  suscep- 
tibility of  death  or  evil.  This  is  therefore  salvation — 
"  They  that  shall  be  counted  worthy  to  obtain  that  world, 
and  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  are  the  children  of 
God,  being  the  children  of  the  resurrection ;  neither  can 
they  die  any  more."  (Luke  20  :  35.)  Here  is  the  solu- 
tion of  God's  grand  design  with  man  and  the  world. 
It  is  this  innumerable  multitude  of  re-created  men  and 
women,  no  more  liable  to  suffer,  that  vindicates  the 
wisdom,  protection,  goodness,  and  mercy  of  God,  in  sub- 
jecting the  present  short  life  of  man,  and  that  of  the 
death-period  of  the  world  itself;  for  its  six  thousand 
years  bears  no  proportion  to  its  redeemed  and  re-created 
eternity.  Ingersoll,  knowing  nothing  about  this  end, 
clearly  taught  throughout  the  Scriptures,  leaves  him 
floundering  in  ignorance,  and  complaining  of  the  irrecon- 
cilable condition  of  things ;  to  prove  to  the  ])ious  friend 
of  his,  that  the  present  world  is  not  under  the  govern- 
ment of  God,  while  there  is  not  an  intimation  in  all  the 
Scriptures  that  it  is  under  his  government.  He  might 
have  given  an  illustration  of  his  own  experience  to  ])rove 


TEN   ABSURDITIES   OF   INGERSOLLISM.        28 1 

that  God  did  not  govern  the  present  world,  thus  :  ''  Here 
am  I  engaged  in  openly  defying  God,  and  using  the  most 
scornful  language  toward  him,  which  he  would  not  permit 
if  he  governs  mankind ;  he  does  not  even  defend  his  own 
character  against  my  charges.  If  he  did  govern  and 
control  men,  why,  when  I  was  about  to  utter  one  of  my 
common  blasphemies,  he  would  instantly  smite  my  tongue 
with  speechless  paralysis ;  but  as  I  do  this  with  impunity, 
therefore  there  is  no  God,  or  he  does  not  govern  the 
world." 

The  modest  ex-Colonel  says:  ^'l  hold  that  the  man 
who  roots  up  the  tares  from  out  the  path  of  life  confers 
some  benefit,  even  if  he  never  sows  a  seed  of  good." 
Christ's  servants,  in  the  parable,  said:  ''Wilt  thou  then 
that  we  go  and  gather  out  the  tares  ?  And  he  said,  Nay  ; 
lest  while  ye  gather  up  the  tares,  ye  root  up  also  the 
wheat  with  them.  Let  both  grow  together  until  the 
harvest ;  and  in  the  time  of  harvest  I  will  say  to  the 
reapers  [his  angels].  Gather  ye  together  first  the  tares,  and 
bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn  them ;  but  gather  the 
wheat  into  my  barn.  The  tares  are  the  children  of  the 
wicked  one.  The  enemy  that  sowed  them  is  the  devil. 
The  wheat -seed  are  the  children  of  the  kingdom." 
(Matt.  13.) 

Ingersoll,  being  a  rank  tare  himself  and  seeing  the  pres- 
ent suffering  of  mankind^  which  he  cannot  destroy,  he  is 
endeavoring  to  dissipate  all  future  hope  from  it  by  preach- 
ing eternal  annihilation. 

The  hope  of  exemption  from  suffering  and  death  in  the 
future  world  encourages  men  to  endure  the  sufferings  of 
the  present,  even  gives  joy  under  them  ;  but  he  calls  those 
who  indulge  this  hope  tares,  and  would  root  them  out  of 
the  world.  Infinite  arrogance  !  Behold,  the  devil's  su- 
preme tare  sower ! 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE      DISCERNING      SCHOLAR     CONFOUNDS      POPERY     WITH 
CHRISTIAN    ZEAL. 

The  scoffer  says  :  "  For  three  hundred  years  the  Chris- 
tian world  endeavored  to  rescue  from  the  infidel  the 
empty  sepulchre  of  Christ.  For  three  hundred  years  the 
armies  of  the  cross  were  baffled  and  beaten  by  the  victori- 
ous hosts  of  an  impudent  impostor.  The  immense  fact 
sowed  the  seeds  of  discontent  throughout  Christendom  ; 
and  millions  began  to  lose  confidence  in  a  God  who  had 
been  vanquished  by  Mohammed.  The  people  also  found 
that  commerce  made  friends  where  religion  made  enemies, 
and  that  religious  zeal  was  utterly  incompatible  with 
peace  between  nations  or  individuals.  They  discovered 
that  those  that  loved  God  most  loved  men  least ;  that 
the  arrogance  of  universal  forgiveness  was  amazing;  that 
the  most  malicious  had  the  effrontery  to  pray  for  their 
enemies ;  and  that  humility  and  tyranny  were  the  fruit 
of  the  same  tree. ' ' 

Here  we  have  another  list  of  this  man's  slanders  of  God, 
Christ,  and  his  religion.  Not  one  of  the  things  to  v/hich 
he  refers  is  authorized  by  the  Scriptures.  First,  there  is 
no  ''Christian  world;"  there  are  Christians  in  it,  and 
the  reason  why  they  are  such  is  because  they  follow 
Christ  in  being  harmless,  and  separate  from  sinners,  keep- 
ing his  instructions  and  commands,  one  of  which  is, 
'*  Put  up  thy  sword,  for  he  that  taketh  the  sword  shall 
perish  by  the  sword."  These  crusaders,  therefore,  dis- 
obeyed Christ  and  obeyed  the  popes.  Christ's  converts 
were  only  made  by  believing  the  gospel  and  obeying  its 
precei)ts ;  theirs,  by  the  sword  of  aggressive  warfare. 
Second,  Christ  never  told  his  disci i)les  that  the  sepulchre 
in  which  he  once  lay  had  the   least  sacredness  about  it, 


POPERY   AND    CHRISTIAN   ZEAL.  283 

or  ever  intimated  that  his  servants  were  to  rescue  and 
hold  it  by  any  means,  much  less  by  the  sword  of  blood ; 
hence,  he  nor  his  religion  were  in  nowise  responsible 
for  the  crusades ;  and  Christians,  his  followers,  never 
marched  to  Jerusalem  to  prosecute  a  bloody  fight  for  an 
empty  cave ;  consequently  they  were  not  beaten  back  by 
an  impudent  impostor.  The  immense  fact,  therefore,  that 
God  had  been  beaten  by  Mohammed,  is  no  fact  at  all ; 
but  is  one  of  this  other  impostor's  Hes,  though,  like  a  par- 
rot, he  only  repeats  the  stale  story. 

Third,  the  Bible  condemns  all  religious  zeal  which  is 
not  according  to  knowledge,  and  it  is  always  such  when 
it  leads  its  possessor  to  execute  acts  unauthorized  or  con- 
demned by  the  Scriptures  ;  and  if  it  makes  aggressive 
war  upon  other  nations,  it  is  of  this  character.  The  dis- 
covery that  those  who  loved  God  most  loved  men  least 
was  never  made  at  all,  and  it  is  as  contrary  to  common 
philosophy  as  to  Scripture,  thus:  ''If  a  man  say,  I  love 
God,  and  hateth  his  brother,  he  is  a  liar.  For  he  that 
loveth  not  his  brother,  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  can  he 
love  God,  whom  he  hath  not  seen  ?  And  this  command- 
ment have  we  from  him.  That  he  who  loveth  God 
loveth  his  brother  also."  (i  John  4:  20,  21.)  Those, 
therefore,  to  whom  IngersoU  alludes  were  anti- Christians 
like  himself,  hating  both  their  brother  and  their  God.  He 
stigmatizes  universal  forgiveness  "  arrogance. "  If  in  the 
last  great  judgment  God  should  forgive  him,  would  he 
consider  that  arrogance  ?  Besides,  such  is  not  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Bible.  Its  Author  proposes  to  forgive  none 
who  do  not  heartily  repent  of  their  wickedness  and  work 
righteousness  thereafter.  He  says  :  "  The  most  malicious 
prayed  for  their  enemies,  and  this  showed  them  to  be 
hypocritical  at  heart. ' '  Well,  then  they  were  not  Chris- 
tians. A  man  who  can  say,  "  Humility  and  tyranny  are 
the  fruit  of  the  same  tree,"  has  audacity  and  ignorance 
equal  to  any  statement,  having  no  regard  for  truth,  pro- 
priety, reason,  or  self-respect.  As  well  say  light  and  dark- 
ness have  the  same  root,  grow  on  the  same  tree. 

The  scoffer  says :  "The  clergy  balance  all  the  ills  of 
life  with  the  expected  joys  of  the  next  life."     Having  no 


284      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

hope  of  future  happiness  himself,  he  seems  to  be  mad- 
dened at  the  idea  of  joy  in  any  future  world  for  others, 
and  consoles  himself  by  imitating  his  father-devil  in  try- 
ing to  destroy  the  future  hope  of  everyone  else.  His  pen 
and  tongue  turns  God  into  a  tyrant,  angels  into  fiends, 
and  heaven  into  hell,  if  there  are  such  places.  He  has 
discovered  that  the  most  effectual  weapons  to  accomplish 
this  object  are  ridicule,  abuse,  sarcasm,  sophistry,  and 
presumptuous  lies,  which  he  adopts  and  wields  with  the 
vengeance  of  cowardly  audacity.  That  we  do  him  no  in- 
justice, listen  to  the  following  :  "  We  are  assured  that  all 
is  perfection  in  heaven  ;  there  the  skies  are  cloudless, 
there  all  is  serenity  and  peace.  Here  empires  may  be 
overthrown,  dynasties  extinguished  in  blood,  millions  of 
slaves  may  toil  beneath  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sun  and 
the  cruel  strokes  of  the  lash  ;  yet  all  is  happiness  in  hea\en. 
[But  none  of  these  things  would  happen  if  men  would 
obey  their  God,  loving  him  with  all  the  heart,  and  their 
neighbor  as  themselves.]  Pestilences  may  strew  the  earth 
with  corpses  of  loved  ones ;  the  survivors  may  bend 
above  them  in  agony  ;  yet  the  placid  bosom  of  heaven  is 
unruffled.  [That  is  not  the  heaven  where  God  and  his 
angels  reside.  So  intensely  are  they  interested  in  that 
which  takes  place  among  men  on  earth,  to  hasten  the  pur- 
pose of  God  in  obtaining  subjects  for  his  coming  endless 
empire,  that  when  a  single  convert  accepts  the  conditions 
the  master  of  the  place  says,  "  1  say  unto  you,  there  is  joy 
in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth."     (Luke  15  :  10.)] 

"  Children  may  expire,  vainly  asking  for  bread  ;  babes 
may  be  devoured  by  serpents  ;  while  God  sits  smiling  in 
the  clouds.  [Never  in  the  Bible  is  God  represented  as 
sitting  in  the  clouds  smiling;  and,  wherever  he  sits,  he  is 
long-suffering  with  men,  not  willing  they  should  i)erish, 
but  come  to  repentance  and  live.]  The  innocent  may 
languish  in  the  obscurity  of  dungeons ;  brave  men  and 
women  may  be  changed  into  ashes  at  the  bigot's  stake  ; 
while  heaven  is  filled  with  song  and  joy.  [God's remedy 
for  the  martyrs  is  provided  for  thus  :  "  He  that  losetli 
his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it  again  ;  "  and  that  life  will 


POPERY   AND    CHRISTIAN   ZEAL.  285 

be  without  end  :  "  And  this  is  the  will  of  him  that  sent 
me,  that  every  one  which  seeth  the  Son,  and  believeth 
on  him,  may  have  everlasting  hfe ;  and  I  will  raise  him 
up  at  the  last  day."  (John  6  :  40.)  Ingersoll  fabricates 
a  heartless  God  and  a  fictitious  heaven,  in  order  to  prej- 
udice men  and  women,  whom  he  supposes  as  ignorant 
upon  these  subjects  as  himself,  against  the  God  and 
heaven  of  the  Scriptures.]  Out  on  the  sea,  in  dark- 
ness and  storm,  the  shipwrecked  struggle  with  the  cruel 
waves  ;  while  the  angels  play  upon  their  golden  harps. 
[There  is  not  a  passage  in  the  Bible  that  says  or  inti- 
mates that  angels  play  on  golden  or  any  other  kind  of 
harps  in  heaven.  Those  who  thus  rejoice  are  the  re- 
deemed and  resurrected  saints  of  God,  and  it  is  at  their 
eternal  victory  in  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  and 
all  the  innocent  children  of  all  ages  and  the  repentant 
sinners  are  to  be  the  harpers  ;  nor  is  it  until  all  the  im- 
penitent have  suffered  the  second  death,  and  all  saints 
are  saved  beyond  the  liability  of  harm.  This  is  as  near 
as  Ingersoll  ever  gets  anything  right  which  is  taught  in 
the  Scriptures.]  The  streets  of  the  world  are  filled 
with  the  diseased,  deformed,  and  helpless ;  the  chambers 
of  pain  are  crowded  with  pale  forms  of  suffering  ;  while 
the  angels  float  and  play  in  their  happy  realms  of  glory. 
In  heaven  they  are  too  happy  to  have  sympathy ;  too 
busy  singing  to  aid  the  imploring  and  distressed.  Their 
eyes  are  blinded,  their  ears  are  stopped,  and  their  hearts 
turned  to  stone  by  the  infinite  selfishness  of  joy."  [This 
is  another  picture  of  his  fictitious  heaven,  not  an  item  of 
which  is  taught  in  the  Bible.  Its  place  of  rejoicing  is  to 
be  the  new  heaven  and  new  earth,  in  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  there  will  not  be  a  pang  of  suffering,  all  of  which 
belonged  to  the  past  and  had  passed  away,  and  also  in 
which  there  is  not  an  existing  will  of  man  or  devil  hostile 
to  the  will  of  God,  therefore  nothing  to  mar  the  joys  of 
God,  angels,  or  men.  Who  would  have  thought  Inger- 
soll had  ever  read  the  Bible,  had  he  not  said  he  had  ?] 
He  says,  "  Heaven  barely  glances  at  the  miseries  of 
earth."  [God,  angels,  and  his  saints  did  all  they  could 
to  induce  such  as  he  to  seek  this  life  of  future  happiness ; 


286      CONFLICT    OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

but  they  scoffed  at  all  the  gracious  offers,  and  abused  them 
for  sacrificing  the  mere  animal  joys  of  the  present  short 
life  for  that  of  this  immortal  world.] 

He  says  :  '*  The  terrible  religious  wars  that  inundated 
the  world,  tended  at  last  to  bring  all  religions  into  dis- 
grace and  hatred."  The  contrary  of  this  is  the  historic 
fact,  whether  of  false  or  true  religion.  There  never  were 
as  many  Mohammedans,  Roman  Catholics,  Jews,  and 
Protestants  on  earth  as  at  the  present  day.  Besides,  all 
the  rest  of  the  world  are  Pagans.  Among  the  Pagans 
there  are  no  atheists  ;  among  the  Mohammedans  none ; 
among  the  Jews  none ;  among  the  Roman  Catholics 
none  ;  and  only  here  and  there  a  professing  atheist 
among  nominal  Christians.  How,  then,  is  all  religion 
held  in  contempt  ?  Such  assertions  show  that  whatever 
Ingersoll  desires  he  states  as  a  fact.  He  says  :  ''  Thought- 
ful people  begin  to  question  the  divine  origin  of  a  re- 
ligion that  made  its  believers  hold  the  rights  of  others  in 
contempt."  One  of  the  cardinal  principles  of  the 
Christian  religion,  everyone  but  Ingersoll  knows,  is  ab- 
solute respect  for  the  rights  of  others,  and  if  he  means 
the  right  of  the  crusaders  to  take  Jerusalem  from  the 
Mohammedans,  it  was  Papacy  and  not  Christianity  that 
did  it ;  and  that  religion  claims  the  right  to  use  the  sword 
of  war  in  its  establishment,  but  which  the  laws  of  God 
forbid.  Christianity  recognizes  her  subjects  as  aliens  in 
this  world  and  heritable  citizens  of  the  world  to  come. 

Says  the  Lying  Oracle:  "A  few  began  to  compare 
Christianity  with  the  religions  of  heathen  people,  and 
were  forced  to  admit  that  the  difference  was  hardly 
worth  dying  for."  Yes,  very  few;  for  during  the  first 
three  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  the  Christian  religion 
almost  superseded  the  Pagan  religion  of  the  Roman 
empire,  though  supported  by  the  civil  power,  and  that 
too  by  its  natural  means,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 
And  if  he  refers  to  the  days  of  the  crusades,  then 
Romanism  had  so  far  corrupted  nominal  Christianity, 
that  scarcely  an  example  either  of  its  faith  or  practice 
could  be  found.  It  was  the  ^^  Dark  Ages.''  He  says: 
''They   also    found   that   other  nations  were   even   hap- 


POPERY   AND    CHRISTIAN   ZEAL.  287 

pier  and  more  prosperous  than  their  own,  and  they  be- 
gan to  suspect  that  their  religion,  after  all,  was  not  of 
much  real  value."  These  are  not  true  statements,  for 
history  shows  that  during  the  Christian  era  there  has 
not  been  a  heathen  nation  as  happy  and  prosperous  as 
those  which  were  merely  nominal  Christian  ;  and  how 
would  this  have  been  increased  had  everyone  of  them 
been  a  real  Christian  nation,  whose  practice  is  the  golden 
rule  !  It  is  another  fact  that  no  mere  nominal  Christian 
country  ever  went  back  to  heathenism,  which  it  would 
have  done  had  the  people  found  it  would  have  made 
them  more  prosperous  and  happy. 

Progress  of  the  Gospel  in  the  First  Three  Centuries. 

In  order  to  rightly  estimate  the  value  and  purity  of 
the  gospel,  its  history  must  be  taken  when  it  stood  alone 
upon  its  merits,  and  against  all  the  religions  of  the 
world,  though  sustained  by  the  military  and  legal  power 
of  their  states  ;  and  this  period  was  from  the  days  of 
Christ  until  it  became  the  legal  religion  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  which  began  in  the  days  of  Constantine  the 
Great,  who  came  to  the  throne  a.d.  319.  To  show 
what  it  was  during  this  period  we  introduce  the  following 
testimony  of  its  enemies:  "Most  of  the  Roman  Em- 
perors who  reigned  in  the  second  century  were  of  a 
mild  and  lenient  character,  and  under  their  administra- 
tion the  churches  enjoyed  many  seasons  of  tranquillity, 
though  they  were  occasionally  called  to  pass  through  the 
fire.  Before  the  close  of  the  first  century,  Nerva  had 
granted  toleration  to  the  Church,  and  restored  the 
Christian  exiles ;  but  his  successor,  Trajan,  renowned  for 
his  philosophic  virtues,  managed  the  question  so  as  to 
put  the  Christians  without  the  protection  of  law.  If  he 
did  not  issue  edicts  against  them,  he  suffered  the  popu- 
lace to  wreak  their  vetigeance  on  them  and  destroy 
them  at  pleasure.  A  violent  persecution  raged  in  Bethy- 
nia.  Not  knowing  what  course  to  pursue,  Pliny,  the 
governor  of  the  province,  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
emperor,  which  gives  such  an  account  of  the  Christians 


288      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

as  a  candid  and  intelligent  heathen  would  form,  and 
being  an  official  document  of  the  age,  as  well  as  its 
answer,  is  entitled  to  the  fullest  credibility.  It  was 
written  about  a.d.  107. 

Pli7iy'' s  Letter  to  the  Emperor  Trajan. 

'*  Health  :  It  is  my  usual  custom,  Sir,  to  refer  all 
things  of  which  I  harbor  any  doubt,  to  you  ;  for  who 
can  better  direct  my  judgment  in  its  hesitation,  or  in- 
struct my  understanding  in  its  ignorance  ?  I  never  had 
the  fortune  to  be  present  at  any  examination  of  Chris- 
tians before  I  came  into  this  province ;  I  am  therefore  at 
a  loss  to  determine  what  is  the  usual  object  of  inquiry  or 
of  punishment,  and  to  what  length  either  of  them  is  to  be 
carried.  It  has  been  with  me  a  question  very  problem- 
atical, whether  any  distinction  should  be  made  be- 
tween the  young  and  old,  the  tender  and  the  robust ; 
whether  any  room  should  be  given  for  repentance  :  for 
the  guilt  of  Christianity,  once  incurred,  is  not  to  be  ex- 
piated by  the  most  unequivocal  retraction  :  whether  the 
name  itself,  abstracted  from  any  flagitiousness  of  conduct, 
or  the  crimes  connected  with  the  name,  be  the  object  of 
punishment.  In  the  mean  time,  this  has  been  my 
method,  with  respect  to  those  who  were  brought  before 
me  as  Christians.  I  asked  them  whether  they  were 
Christians.  If  they  plead  guilty,  I  interrogated  them 
twice  afresh,  with  a  menace  of  capital  punishment.  In 
case  of  obstinate  perseverance,  I  ordered  them  to  be 
executed.  For  of  this  I  had  no  doubt,  whatever  was  the 
name  of  their  religion,  that  a  sullen  inflexibility  called 
for  the  vengeance  of  the  magistrate.  Some  were  infected 
with  the  same  madness,  whom  on  account  of  citizenship 
I  reserved  to  be  sent  to  Rome,  to  your  tribunal.  In  the 
course  of  this  business,  information  poured  in,  and  as 
usual,  when  it  is  encouraged,  more  cases  occur.  An 
anonymous  libel  was  exhibited,  with  a  catalogue  of 
names  of  persons,  who  yet  declared  they  were  not 
Christians,  and  never  had  been  ;  and  they  repeated  after 
me  an  invocation  to  the  gods  and  to  your  image,  which, 


POPERY   AND    CHRISTIAN   ZEAL.  289 

for  this  purpose,  I  had  ordered  to  be  brought,  with  the 
images  of  the  deities.  [They  did  not  think  the  images 
were  the  deities  themselves,  as  Ingersoll  charges.]  They 
performed  sacred  rites  with  wine  and  frankincense,  and 
execrated  Christ,  which,  I  am  told,  no  Christian  can  be 
compelled  to  do. 

''  On  this  account  I  dismissed  them.  Others,  named 
by  an  informer,  first  affirmed  and  then  denied  the  charge 
of  Christianity,  declaring  that  they  had  been  Christians, 
but  had  ceased  to  be  such  some  three  years  before.  All 
of  them  worshipped  your  image  and  the  statues  of  the 
gods,  and  also  execrated  Christ.  This  was  the  account 
they  gave  of  the  nature  of  their  rehgion,  whether  it  de- 
serves the  name  of  crime  or  error,  namely,  that  they  were 
accustomed  on  a  stated  day  to  meet  before  daylight,  and 
to  repeat  among  themselves  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  a  God 
[thus  did  the  Christians  at  this  early  day  worship  Christ 
as  God],  and  to  bind  themselves  with  an  oath  not  to 
commit  any  wickedness,  but  to  abstain  from  thefts  and 
not  to  break  their  pledge,  after  which  they  separated  and 
met  again  at  a  promiscuous,  harmless  meal,  from  which 
last  practice  they  desisted  after  the  publication  of  your 
edict,  in  which,  agreeably  to  your  orders,  I  forbade  any 
societies  of  that  sort.  On  which  account  I  judged  it  more 
necessary  to  inquire  by  torture,  from  two  females,  who 
were  said  to  be  deaconesses,  what  is  the  real  truth.  But 
'  othing  could  I  collect,  except  a  depraved  and  excessive 
iuperstition.  Deferring  any  further  investigation,  I  de- 
termined to  consult  you,  for  the  number  of  culprits  is  so 
great  as  to  call  for  serious  consideration.  [That  the 
Christians  should  increase  so  as  to  justify  this  admission, 
and  under  such  circumstances,  can  only  be  attributed  to 
the  power  of  the  gospel.]  Many  persons  are  informed 
against,  of  every  age  and  of  both  sexes  ;  and  still  more 
will  be  in  the  same  situation.  The  contagion  of  the 
superstition  hath  spread,  not  only  through  cities,  but 
even  to  villages  in  the  country.  Not  that  I  think  it  im- 
possible to  check  and  correct  it.  The  success  of  my  en- 
deavors hitherto  forbid  such  desponding  thoughts  ;  for 
the  temples,  once  almost  desolate,  begin  to  be  frequented, 

9 


290      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

and  the  sacred  solemnities,  which  had  long  been  inter- 
mitted, are  now  attended  afresh,  and  the  sacred  victims 
are  now  sold  everywhere,  which  once  could  scarcely  find 
a  purchaser.  Whence  I  conclude  that  many  might  be 
reclaimed,  were  the  hope  of  impunity  on  repentance  ab- 
solutely confirmed." — Pliny. 

Here  is  indisputable  testimony,  showing  that  in  about 
eighty  years  after  the  crucifixion,  Christianity  had  almost 
destroyed  the  worship  of  the  gods,  and  in  the  most  popu- 
lar part  of  the  Roman  Empire  ;  and  that,  too,  when  its 
converts  were  outlawed  and  martyred  for  its  profession. 
Surely  it  could  not  have  been  this  period  that  the  heathen 
discovered  no  value  or  difference  between  the  Christian 
religion  and  that  of  heathenism.  And  shortly  after 
this  Christianity  became  corrupted  to  the  level  of  pagan- 
ism by  its  espousal  by  the  Roman  Empire,  bringing  the 
world  into  the  church,  and  from  which  she  has  never  re- 
covered ;  and  IngersoU's  blunder  is  in  confounding  the 
fallen  with  the  true  Church,  Christ  with  antichrist, 
light  with  darkness,  truth  with  error,  and  condemning 
both  alike  ! 

Trajaii' s  Answer  to  Pliny .^ 

^'  You  have  done  right  in  the  inquiry  you  have  made 
concerning  Christians  ;  for,  truly,  no  one  general  rule 
can  be  laid  down  which  will  apply  to  all  cases.  These 
people  must  not  be  sought  after.  If  they  are  brought 
before  you  and  are  convicted,  let  them  be  capitally  pun- 
ished ;  yet  with  this  restriction,  that  if  any  one  renounces 
Christianity,  and  evidences  his  sincerity  by  supplicating 
our  gods,  however  suspected  he  may  be  for  the  past,  he 
shall  obtain  i)ardon  for  the  future,  on  his  repentance. 
But  anonymous  libels  ought  in  no  case  to  be  attended  to, 
for  the  precedent  would  be  of  the  worst  sort,  and  i)er- 
fectly  incongruous  to  the  maxims  of  my  government." — 
March's  "  Ecc.  History,"  images  171-173. 

Here  is  the  admission  that  in  the  highest  court  of  the 
Roman  world,  the  profession  of  the  Christian  religion 
was  a  crime  i)unishable  by  death  ;  and  yet,  in  little  more 
than  half  a  century,  the  idol  temples  were  forsaken,  and 


fOPERY  AND   CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  29I 

the  sacred  victims  could  not  be  sold  in  the  shambles  ; 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  dreadful  effort  of  the  Emperor 
and  his  successors  not  only  failed  to  exterminate  it,  but 
it  continued  so  to  prosper  that,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  century,  it  was  a  popular  and  easy  task  for  the 
Emperor  Constantine  the  Great  to  change  the  religion 
of  the  state  to  that  of  Christianity. 

Testimony  of  a  Distinguished  Martyr. 

The  most  distinguished  martyr  of  the  age — the  latter 
part  of  the  second  century — was  Polycarp.  This  vener- 
able man  was  a  disciple  of  John,  and  intimate  with  the 
other  disciples.  He  belonged  to  the  church  of  Smyrna  ; 
and  in  that  age  there  was  but  one  church  in  a  locality, 
and  from  it  always  took  its  name.  Ireneus  informs  us 
that  he  had  often  heard  from  his  lips  an  account  of  his 
conversations  with  John  and  others  who  had  seen  the 
Lord,  whose  sayings  he  rehearsed.  Polycarp  was  brought 
before  the  tribunal  in  the  hundredth  year  of  his  age.  The 
proconsul  commanded  him  to  reproach  Christ,  and  he 
would  release  him  ;  but  he  replied  :  "  Eighty  and  six 
years  have  I  served  him,  and  he  hath  never  wronged  me. 
How  can  I  now  blaspheme  my  King?  "  <'  I  have  wild 
beasts,"  said  the  proconsul.  ''  Call  them,"  said  the 
Christian.  ^'I  will  tame  your  spirit  by  fire."  '^  Do 
what  you  please,"  said  the  martyr,  ''and  why  do  you 
delay  ?  ' '  The  fire  was  brought  and  he  was  bound  to 
the  stake,  his  hands  tied  behind  him,  which  he  clasped, 
and  said  :  ''  O  Father  of  thy  beloved  and  blessed  Son 
Jesus  Christ ;  O  God  of  angels,  principalities,  and  of 
all  creation  ;  I  bless  thee  that  thou  hast  counted  me 
worthy  of  this  day  and  hour,  to  receive  my  portion  in  the 
number  of  martyrs — the  cup  of  Christ,  for  the  resurrec- 
tion to  eternal  life,  both  of  soul  and  body."  The  fire 
consumed  the  martyr,  but  Rome  was  unable  to  subdue 
the  humble  trophy  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  he  triumphed 
even  in  death  ! 


292      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 


Tcrtullian'  s  Apology  for  the   Church  of  the  First  lliree 
Centuries. 

The  benevolence  of  the  Christians  np  to  the  last  part 
of  the  third  century  was  such  as  has  never  been  witnessed 
since.  They  not  only  gave  their  treasures  to  their  own 
poor,  but  they  exerted  themselves  to  relieve  distress- and 
suffering  everywhere  they  found  it,  and  at  this  time  the 
Church  in  Rome  supported  a  thousand  widows.  Chris- 
tians felt  that  they  did  not  deserve  the  name  unless  they 
spent  their  lives  in  imitation  of  that  of  Christ  their  Mas- 
ter. Immense  estates  were  consecrated  to  public  charity. 
Having  renounced  the  luxuries  of  the  world,  they  did  not 
need  great  wealth,  and  they  viewed  their  poor  brethren 
on  a  level  with  themselves,  as  sinners  to  be  ransomed  by 
the  Son  of  God.  The  number  of  the  Christian  converts, 
their  crucifixion  to  the  interests  of  the  world,  and  the 
extent  of  their  good  works,  is  best  shown  by  one  of  their 
own  number.  In  his  apology  for  the  Christians,  Ter- 
tullian  says  :  "  We  pray  for  the  safety  of  the  emperors  to 
the  eternal  God  ;  that  they  may  have  a  long  life,  a  secure 
empire,  a  safe  palace,  a  faithful  senate,  a  well  moralized 
people,  and  a  quiet  state  of  the  world.  Were  we  disposed 
to  act  the  part,  I  will  not  say  of  secret  assassins,  but 
open  enemies,  should  we  want  forces  and  numbers  ?  Are 
there  not  multitudes  of  us  in  every  part  of  the  world  ?  It 
is  true,  we  are  but  of  yesterday,  and  yet  we  have  filled  all 
your  towns,  cities,  islands,  boroughs,  councils,  camps, 
courts,  palaces,  senate,  and  forum.  We  leave  you  only 
your  temples. 

"  For  what  war  should  we  not  be  ready  and  well  pre- 
pared, even  though  unequal  in  numbers  ;  were  it  not  that 
our  religion  requires  us  rather  to  suffer  death  than  to  in- 
flict it  ?  If  we  were  to  make  a  general  secession  from 
your  dominions,  you  would  be  astonished  at  your  solitude. 
We  are  dead  to  all  ideas  of  worldly  honor  and  dignity.; 
nothing  is  more  foreign  to  us  than  political  concerns. 
The  whole  world  is  our  republic.  We  are  a  body  united 
in  one  bond  of  religion,  discipline,  and  hope.     We  meet 


POPERY  AND   CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  293 

in  our  assemblies  for  prayer.  Every  one  pays  something 
into  the  public  chest  once  a  month,  or  when  he  please 
and  according  to  his  ability  and  inclination,  for  there  is 
no  compulsion.  These  gifts  are,  as  it  were,  the  deposits 
of  piety.  Hence  we  relieve  the  needy  and  bury  the  dead, 
support  orphans  and  decrepid  persons-,  assist  those  who 
have  suffered  shipwreck,  and  comfort  those  who,  for 
teaching  the  word  of  God,  are  condemned  to  the  mines 
for  imprisonment.  This  charity  of  ours  has  caused  us  to 
be  noticed :  See,  say  they,  how  these  Christians  love 
one  another." 

It  is  as  certain  that  this  church,  this  religion,  was  that 
of  the  holy  Scriptures,  as  that  it  is  in  palpable  contrast  to 
that  which  was  established  by  the  sword  of  Constantine 
at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century.  Can  it  be  said  of 
this  church,  that  ''It  is  dead  to  all  ideas  of  worldly  honor 
and  dignity  ;  that  nothing  is  more  foreign  to  it  than  politi- 
cal concerns ;  that  we  are  united  in  one  body,  one  dis- 
cipline, one  bond  of  religion,  and  one  name  ;  winning  the 
poor  and  needy  from  the  Pagan  selfish  religion,  by  first 
feeding  and  clothing  them,  to  that  whose  test  and  standard 
is  thus  written?  " — "  Whoso  hath  this  world's  goods,  and 
seeth  his  brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of 
compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in 
him  ?  "  Their  religion  was  the  embodiment  of  humanity 
in  its  highest  form — the  implantation  of  the  spirit,  dis- 
position of  God,  personally  manifested  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Their  future  hope  rested  alone  in  the  resurrection  of  both 
soul  and  body  from  the  dead.  For  having  a  religion  so 
humane,  a  worship  so  rational,  and  a  hope  so  palpable 
and  philosophical,  they  were  called  atheists  by  the  mytho- 
logical priests  of  heathendom.  They  had  no  creed  but 
the  Bible.  Christ's  disposition,  precepts,  and  words 
were  the  guide  of  their  life  and  the  groundwork  of  future 
life  and  hope.  Of  course,  any  system  of  religion,  whether 
called  Catholic  or  Prostestant  or  by  any  other  name, 
lacking  any  of  these  features,  is  a  fallen  system,  and  it  is 
an  abusive  degradation  to  Christ  and  his  religion  to  judge 
it  by  these  worldly,  men-made  standards.  As  well  hold 
Michelangelo  responsible  for  his  most  masterly  painting, 


294      CONFLICT  OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

after  being  defaced  by  the  brush  of  ignorance  or  design. 
It  is  as  though  the  great  principles  of  human  freedom  are 
responsible  for  its  destruction  by  the  hand  of  ambitious 
tyranny.  Nothing,  therefore,  is  more  wicked  and  absurd 
than  for  Ingersoll  and  his  confederates  to  first  confound 
Christianity  with  its  corrupt  counterfeits,  and  then  scoff  at 
the  incongruity  of  their  own  work.  It  is  the  duty  of 
Ingersoll,  and  his  God  and  Creator  holds  him  responsible 
for  its  discharge,  to  preach  a  reformation,  taking  as  the 
standard  the  church  of  the  first  three  centuries,  when 
there  were  no  creeds,  and  which  popery  destroyed  by 
making  one,  and  that  one  was  the  first  creed  !  If  he 
would  do  this,  he  would  enlist  not  only  the  sympathy, 
but  the  co-operation  of  every  Christian,  whether  Jew  or 
Gentile,  in  the  civilized  world.  But  here,  with  the  power 
of  truth,  we  put  a  hook  in  the  jaw  of  this  dastardly 
cowardice  of  the  self-styled  freethinkers,  who  are  engaged 
in  this  crusade  against  their  Maker,  because  they  see  they 
may  do  so  at  present  with  impunity,  but  without  regard 
to  the  wrath  they  thus  treasure  to  themselves  against  the 
day  of  wrath:  ''Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work 
is  not  executed  speedily,  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons 
of  men  is  fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil."      (Ecc.  8  :  ii.) 

Ingersoll  says  :  "  For  years  a  deadly  conflict  has  been 
waged  between  a  few  brave  men  and  women  of  thought 
and  genius  upon  one  side,  and  the  great  ignorant  mass 
on  the  other.  This  is  the  war  between  science  and  faith. 
The  few  have  appealed  to  reason,  to  honor,  to  law,  to 
freedom,  and  to  the  known,  and  happiness  here  in  this 
world.  The  many  have  appealed  to  prejudice,  to  fear, 
to  miracle,  to  slavery,  to  the  unknown,  and  to  misery 
hereafter.  The  few  have  said.  Think.  The  many  have 
said,  I>elieve."  Against  this  flight  of  egotistic  boasting 
we  place  the  facts  of  history,  facts  of  jjhysical,  moral, 
and  political  science,  facts  of  philosoi)hy,  iacts  of  Script- 
ure, facts  of  common  observation  and  of  experience, 
facts  of  the  power  of  the  gospel  to  ameliorate  human  suf- 
fering in  the  highest  possible  degree  in  the  present  world, 
as  well  as  to  insi)ire  human  hapi)iness  by  the  i)romise  of 
eternal  wealth  and  life.      Of  course,  it  is  only  a  deadly 


POPERY  AND   CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  295 

conflict  to  the  few  who  wage  the  war  against  their  Maker. 
Who  would  suppose  that  such  men  and  women  think? 
He  says  :  ''  It  is  a  war  of  rehgion  against  science."  No, 
sir,  there  is  no  war  between  the  science  of  nature  and  the 
rehgion  of  Christ,  as  the  rehgion  is  the  highest  philo- 
sophic science  itself,  and  that  of  nature,  being  the  work 
of  God  himself,  must  be  as  perfect  as  its  author.  There 
may  be  war  between  your  ignorant  conceptions  of  both 
of  these  departments  of  the  works  of  God.  Belief,  to  In- 
gersoll,  is  incomprehensible ;  having  no  knowledge  of  the 
God  of  nature  or  of  his  written  revelation,  he  has  no 
grounds  upon  which  to  base  belief,  and  evidence  is  the 
inseparable  condition  of  belief — this  being  an  unques- 
tionable principle  of  mental,  philosophical  science. 
Hence  the  fictitious  warfare  is  in  the  vain  imagination  of 
the  "  Brave  Thinker." 

Mythological  No77ienclature. 

In  the  passage  from  Ingersoll  we  are  about  to  quote, 
and  in  which  he  has  collected  the  names  of  many  of  the 
prominent  heathen  deities,  among  whom  he  blasphe- 
mously ranks  Christ,  the  God  of  the  Scriptures,  with  the 
hope  of  degrading  him  to  the  level  of  his  animosity.  It 
might  be  supposed  from  this  effort  that  he  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  ancient  classics  and  modern  history, 
as  well  as  with  the  religious  facts  of  the  present  day  ;  but 
we  shall  see  that  such  an  inference  is  without  justification. 
The  god  of  any  man  is  that  object  which  he  loves  most, 
honors,  and  serves,  and  for  which  he  will  make  the  great- 
est sacrifices  to  please  ;  and  every  man  has  such  a  god. 
While  many  of  these  gods  in  name  and  form  have  passed 
away,  their  places  have  been  filled  by  others ;  and  the 
principal  religions,  of  which  they  were  the  outward  sym- 
bols twenty-five  hundred  years  ago,  remain  until  the  pres- 
ent day,  and  have  more  worshippers  than  in  any  period 
of  the  past ;  and  so  God's  prophets  predict  it  will  be  to 
the  very  last  age  of  the  world.  We  may  also  remark  that 
these  gods  of  the  ancients  represented  every  passion  of 
human  nature,  every  depraved  appetite,  and  every  am- 


296      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

bitioiis  scheme  of  revenge  ;  and  it  was  the  indulgence  of 
these  that  constituted  the  worship,  while  that  of  the  true 
God  is  unique  and  requires  the  crucifixion  of  all  these 
passions.  For  example,  to  get  intoxicated  in  the  days  of 
Alexander  the  Great  was  called  the  worship  of  Bacchus, 
the  god  of  drunkenness  ;  and  to  perform  the  same  devo- 
tion, to  become  the  servant  of  the  same  base  appetite, 
is  the  same  worship — the  service  of  the  passions  being 
the  service  of  the  gods — and  is  in  direct  hostility  to  that 
of  the  living  God.  Hence  he  must  forbid  all  such  wor- 
ship and  reject  all  such  service.  Paul  gives  us  the  phi- 
losophy of  the  question,  thus:  ''Know  ye  not  that  to 
whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants  to  obey,  his  servants 
ye  are,  whether  of  sin  unto  death,  or  of  obedience  unto 
righteousness."     (Rom.  6:6.) 

Another  of  these  gods  of  antiquity  was  called  Mam- 
mon, the  god  of  riches.  Of  course,  the  service  of  this 
god  is  the  love  of  money,  and  is  hostile  to  the  Christian 
religion.  Christ  says  :  "  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  Mam- 
mon." (Matt.  6  :  24.)  The  gospel  gives  this  species  of 
idol-worship  the  name  of  *'  covetousness  :  "  "  Covetous- 
ness,  which  is  idolatry."  (Col.  3:5.)  That  the  devo- 
tees to  this  god  have  not  passed  away,  but  are  very  nu- 
merous at  the  present  day,  is  shown  by  the  popular  name 
given  to  our  times — "  the  age  of  the  almighty  dollar." 
Even  for  money  Ingersoll  curses  God  and  looks  upward. 
He  says  :  "  In  that  vast  cemetery,  called  the  past,  are  most 
of  the  religions  of  men,  and  there,  too,  are  nearly  all  of 
the  gods.  [The  love  of  the  world  is  called  the  god  of  this 
world,  "  who  blinds  the  minds  of  them  that  believe  not," 
and  has  so  blinded  the  mind  of  IngensoU  that  he  thinks 
all  the  gods  and  their  worship  is  interred  in  the  cemetery 
of  the  past.]  The  sacred  temples  of  India  were  ruins  long 
ago.  Over  column  and  cornice,  over  painted  and  pict- 
ured walls,  cling  and  creep  the  trailing  vines."  [But  the 
idolatrous  religion  of  India  lies  not  thus  buried,  and  her 
devotees  are  more  numerous  than  ever  before,  though  her 
symbolic  gods  may  have  become  crystallized  in  the  lower 
form  of  atheism,  even  more  degrading  than  the  pro- 
nounced worship  of  Brahma  or  Mohammed.] 


POPERY   AND   CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  297 

He  says  :  '^  Brahma,  the  golden,  with  four  heads  and 
four  arms ;  Vishnu,  the  sombre,  the  punisher  of  the 
wicked,  with  his  three  eyes,  his  crescent,  and  his  neck- 
lace of  skulls ;  Siva,  the  destroyer,  red  with  blood ; 
Kali,  the  goddess ;  Draupadi,  the  white-armed ;  and 
Chrishna,  the  Christ — all  have  passed  away  and  left  the 
thrones  of  heaven  desolate. ' ' 

There  is  more  beauty  in  this  paragraph  than  sense  or 
truth,  as  Chrishna — interpreted  Christ — is  no  heathen 
god,  though  millions  of  heathen  have  learned  to  worship 
him  ;  and  the  only  fact  relative  to  his  having  passed 
away  is  that  he  is  to  return  and  reign  forever.  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  in  his  own  re-created  world.  He 
says  :  ''  Along  the  banks  of  the  sacred  Nile  Isis  no  longer 
wanders  and  weeps,  searching  for  the  dead  Osiris.  The 
shadow  of  Typhon's  scowl  falls  no  more  upon  the  waves. 
The  sun  rises  as  of  yore,  and  his  golden  beams  still  smite 
the  lips  of  Memnon,  but  Memnon  is  as  voiceless  as  the 
Sphinx.  The  sacred  fanes  are  lost  in  the  desert  sands  ; 
and  the  dusty  mummies  are  still  waiting  for  the  resurrec- 
tion promised  by  their  priests.  [This  is  a  fabrication  of 
Ingersoll,  or  one  which  he  quotes,  made  to  degrade  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  as  though  it  was  taught  else- 
where than  in  the  Bible,  while  there  is  not  an  intimation, 
even  in  Egyptian  mythology,  that  the  priests  entertained 
the  least  conception  of  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  it 
was  unknown  to  Orpheus,  Socrates,  Plato,  or  Aristotle, 
which  completely  exposes  the  fraud  of  any  attempt  to  so 
interpret  Egyptian  hieroglyphic,  or  the  cuneiform  slabs 
dug  from  Babylon  and  Nineveh.  All  of  these  men  stud- 
ied at  the  schools  of  Alexandria,  in  Egypt. 

While  it  may  be  true  that  the  notion  of  Egyptian 
metempsychosis  was  a  corruption  of  the  doctrine  of  future 
existence  by  the  resurrection,  understood  by  Joseph, 
Jacob,  and  Moses,  the  latter  of  whom  was  taught  in  all 
the  learning  of  the  Egyptians,  it  is  inconceivable  that 
such  a  man,  the  virtual  king  of  Egypt,  should  not  have 
in  turn  taught  in  their  schools  the  Scripture  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection,  more  elaborately  revealed  in  the  Old 
Testament   than   in   the   New.]      And   the   old   beliefs 


298      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

wrought  in  curiously  sculptured  stones,  sleep  in  a  lan- 
guage lost  and  dead.  [If  the  language  is  lost  and  dead, 
what  right  has  he  to  say  it  teaches  a  resurrection  ?] 
Oden,  the  author  of  life  and  soul — [this  Scandinavian 
deity  is  the  same  as  the  Woden  of  the  Saxons,  who  never 
was  claimed  to  be  the  author  of  life  or  the  creator  of 
man,  and  the  highest  honor  paid  him  was  dedicating  to 
him  the  \Vednesday,  the  fourth  day  of  the  week, 
*'  Woden's  day  "]  ;  Vili  and  Ve,  and  the  mighty  giant 
Ymir,  strode  long  ago  from  the  icy  hills  of  the  north  ; 
and  Thor,  with  his  glove-glittering  hammer,  dashes 
mountains  to  the  earth  no  more.  Broken  are  the  circles 
and  cromlecks  of  the  ancient  Druids  ;  fallen  upon  the 
summits  of  the  hills,  covered  with  the  centuries'  moss, 
are  the  sacred  cairns. 

The  divine  fires  of  Persia  and  the  Aztes  have  died  out 
in  the  ashes  of  the  past,  and  there  is  none  to  rekindle 
and  none  to  feed  the  flames.  The  harp  of  Orpheus  is 
still ;  the  drained  cup  of  Bacchus  has  been  thrown  aside 
[never  was  there  such  devotion  paid  to  the  god  of  wine, 
as  at  the  present  day ;  Bacchus  was  the  god  of  wine,  and 
son  of  Jupiter]  ;  Venus  lies  dead  in  stone,  and  her  white 
bosom  heaves  no  more  with  love.  [Christ  says  :  "  Every 
one  that  loveth  father,  mother,  sister,  brother,  wife  or 
husband,  houses  or  lands,  more  than  me,  is  not  worthy 
of  me,"  and  all  such  are  the  devotees  of  "  Venus  ;  "  and 
O  how  her  symbolic  bosom  heaves  with  the  ''  love  of 
the  creature  more  than  the  creator  "in  our  day  !]  The 
streams  still  murmur,  but  no  naiads  bathe  ;  the  trees  still 
wave,  but  in  the  forest  aisles  no  dryads  dance.  [A  dryad 
is  a  nymph  of  the  woods.]  The  gods  have  flown  from 
high  Olympus.  Not  even  the  beautiful  women  can  lure 
them  back.  Danae  lies  unnoticed,  naked  to  the  stars. 
Hushed  forever  are  the  thunders  of  Sinai.  [And  they 
were  never  heard  but  a  part  of  forty  days  ;  but  the  laws 
that  were  given  amid  their  voices  have  not,  and  never 
will,  cease  their  thunderings  against  all  ungodliness  and 
the  i)erpetrators  of  crime,  and  especially  against  the  blas- 
phemers who  associate  them  with  the  imaginary  voices  of 
dumb  idols  ;  and  never  will  those  flaming  laws  cease  their 


POPERY  AND   CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  299 

thunders  until  they  are  opened  in  the  judgment  at  the 
last  day,  and  then,  according  to  their  writings,  every 
scoffer  and  slanderer's  voice  will  be  forever  hushed : 
^'  And  they  were  judged  out  of  those  things  written  in 
the  books,  according  to  their  works."]  Lost  are  the 
voices  of  the  prophets.  [No,  sir  !  never  did  their  voices 
speak  with  such  clearness,  or  were  understood  so  well,  as 
at  the  present  day,  being  vindicated  by  the  fulfilment  of 
the  events  of  our  own  times,  both  national  and  religious.] 
And  the  land  once  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  is  but 
a  desert  waste.  [And  this  fact  is  a  perfect  fulfilment  of 
the  predictions  of  the  prophets  thus  voiced.]  One  by 
one  the  myths  have  faded  from  the  clouds.  [There  never 
were  any  myths  located  in  the  clouds,  by  the  voice  of  the 
prophet.]  One  by  one  the  phantoms  have  disappeared, 
and  one  by  one,  facts,  truths,  and  realities  have  taken 
their  places.  The  supernatural  has  almost  gone,  but  the 
natural  remains  :   the  gods  have  fled,  but  man  is  here." 

It  is  not  a  fact  that  the  gods  have  fled,  but  quite  other- 
wise, and  they  are  more  numerous  than  ever  before  ;  and 
the  devotees,  instead  of  being  formal  worshippers  of  the 
gods,  as  the  ancients  were,  have  set  up  their  idols  in  their 
hearts :  its  phantoms  have  passed  away,  but  its  realities 
have  become  crystallized  in  the  huge  idol,  ''The  love 
of  the  world."  The  God  of  the  prophets,  foreseeing 
this,  inspired  them  to  write:  "Love  not  the  world,  nor 
the  things  of  the  world.  He  that  loveth  the  world, 
the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him."  The  universal 
love  of  the  world,  as  in  our  day,  is  universal  idolatry. 
Here  is  the  god  of  this  world,  who  hath  "  blinded  the 
minds  of  them  that  believe  not,"  who,  laboring  under  the 
deception,  leads  them  to  think,  with  Ingersoll,  that  the 
gods  have  passed  away. 

Of  course,  the  more  follow  the  gods,  the  less  follow  the 
living  God.  Of  course,  there  is  but  an  insignificant 
number  who  are  willing  to  be  called  atheists ;  but  who 
masquerade  under  the  specious  title  of  scieiitists.  That, 
in  the  estimation  of  Ingersoll,  the  supernatural  is  almost 
gone,  has  its  explanation  in  the  fact  that  he  does  not 
know  enough  about  the  natural  to  see  the  philosophic  ne- 


300      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

cessity  for  the  existence  of  the  supernatural ;  that  every- 
thing in  nature,  in  its  inherent  perpetuity  and  commence- 
ment, bears  the  stamp  of  the  supernatural. 

A  Supposition — a  Counter  Supposition, 

The  speculator  says  :  ^'  Suppose,  upon  some  island  we 
should  find  a  man  a  million  years  of  age  [this  is  a  geologi- 
cal period,  or  one  of  evolution,  and  indicates  that  Robert 
is  going  to  give  us  something  to  show  he  has  dabbled 
into  modern  science],  and  suppose  we  should  find  him 
in  possession  of  a  most  beautiful  carriage,  constructed 
upon  the  most  perfect  model.  And  suppose,  further, 
that  he  should  tell  us  it  was  the  result  of  several  hundred 
years  of  labor  and  thought ;  that  for  fifty  thousand  years 
he  used  as  flat  a  log  as  he  could  find  [This  is  foolish, 
for  there  never  was  a  flat  log,  without  the  hand  of  man  to 
make  it  such.]  before  it  occurred  to  him  that  by  split- 
ting the  log  he  could  have  the  same  surface  with  half  the 
weight ;  that  the  wheels  he  first  used  were  solid,  and  that 
fifty  thousand  years  of  thought  suggested  the  use  of  spokes 
and  tires  ;  that  for  many  centuries  he  used  the  wheels 
without  linch-pins ;  that  it  took  a  hundred  thousand 
years  more  to  think  of  using  four  wheels  instead  of  two. 
That  for  ages  he  walked  behind  the  carriage  when  going 
down  hill,  in  order  to  hold  it  back,  before  the  tongue 
was  thought  of;  would  we  conclude  that  man,  from 
the  very  first,  had  been  an  infinitely  ingenious  and  per- 
fect mechanic?  "  We  may  say  that  there  is  no  relic  of 
a  cart  or  a  wagon,  ever  having  been  found,  which  never 
had  a  tongue,  or  linch-pin  ;  and  those  of  solid  wheels 
were  only  used  in  new  countries,  while  the  most  beauti- 
ful carriages  were  used  at  the  same  time  in  other  countries, 
or  other  parts  of  the  same  country.  And  the  foolishness 
of  the  supposition  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  a  wooden  relic 
could  not  be  kept  from  decay  even  fifty  years,  without 
the  hand  of  art.  "  Suppose  we  found  a  man  living  in  an 
elegant  mansion,  and  he  should  inform  us  that  he  had 
lived  in  that  house  for  five  hundred  thousand  years  be- 
fore he  thought  of  putting  on  a  roof."     [Why,  we  should 


POPERY  AND   CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  3OI 

suppose  the  man  told  us  a  lie,  and  thus  confessed  that  he 
was  a  greater  fool  of  a  mechanic  than  a  beaver,  who  al- 
ways makes  the  roof  of  his  house  first,  to  shelter  him 
while  he  makes  the  sides.  In  fact,  we  should  conclude 
that  this  genius  of  a  thinker  in  mechanics  was  a  striking 
type  of  such  freethinkers  as  IngersoU.  All  of  these  allu- 
sions are  too  absurd  to  admit  of  being  respectable  sup- 
positions. In  exposure  of  such  fabrications,  we  refer 
their  authors  to  the  fact  that  there  is  a  long  list  of  artistic 
productions,  the  work  of  ancient  men,  which  are  cata- 
logued among  the  lost  arts. '\ 

He  further  supposes  that  this  dunce  of  an  old  mechanic, 
who  concentrated  all  the  wisdom  of  the  past  for  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  years,  had  not  been  able  to  invent 
windows  and  doors  for  his  dwelling.  At  the  second  be- 
ginning of  the  world,  sixteen  hundred  and  sixty-six  years 
after  its  creation,  we  have  the  account  of  the  construction 
of  a  human  habitation,  which  was  at  once  a  house  and  a 
vessel,  and  which  had  both  doors  and  windows.  In 
order  to  expel  an  infinitely  wise  God  from  being  the  in- 
ventor and  constructor  of  nature,  this  prodigy  of  a  logician 
argues  that  because  things  exist  answering  a  supposed 
purpose  which  always  existed,  thereby  showing  improve- 
ment, and  that  improvement  in  things  created  shows  a 
corresponding  improvement  in  the  Creator.  But  to  show 
an  improvement  in  a  created  thing,  it  is  necessary  to 
show  that  the  thing  existed  before,  but  in  a  different 
form,  and  that  the  purpose  was  always  the  same.  God 
made  the  man,  and  if  he  was  a  perfect  artist  and  a  me- 
chanic at  first,  though  the  man  perfectly  answered  the 
temporary  purpose  for  which  he  was  made,  yet  he  was 
defective  if  he  did  not  answer  an  eternal  purpose,  or  that 
his  temporal  environment  was  not  eternal.  That  becatise 
the  man  himself  made  improvement  shows  a  correspond- 
ing improvement  in  the  Creator.      What  folly  ! 

God  could  invent  and  construct  the  wonderful  machin- 
ery involved  in  the  physiological  structure  of  the  man 
himself — a  mouth  to  open  and  shut  at  will — transparent 
windows  in  his  head  through  which  his  mind  could  see 
and  distinguish  objects ;  but  he  could  not  make  a  door 


^02      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

for  a  man's  house,  or  tell  a  man  how  to  make  them,  un- 
less he  improved  in  mechanic  skill.  Behold  !  what  an 
example — what  a  man  of  thought,  reason,  and  intelli- 
gence is  this  Ingersoll  ?  Created  things  were  at  least  as 
perfect  at  the  beginning,  as  the  Creator  designed  them 
to  be ;  and  many  of  them  more  so  than  they  manifest  at 
the  present  day  ;  in  fact  some  species  of  the  most  noble 
animals  have  degenerated  to  extinction.  The  compari- 
son presents  the  same  ratio  of  difference  as  that  between 
a  new  and  an  old  garment,  and  that  this  is  according  to 
the  original  plan  of  the  Creator,  is  shown  in  his  written 
book,  thus:  ''And  thou.  Lord,  in  the  beginning  hast 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth  ;  and  the  heavens  are  the 
works  of  thine  hands.  They  shall  perish,  but  thou  re- 
mainest  :  and  they  all  shall  wax  old  as  doth  a  garment ; 
and  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  fold  them  up  and  they  shall 
be  changed  ;  but  thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall 
not  fail."  (Heb.  i  :  10-12.)  This  change  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  is  written  in  the  twenty-first  and 
twenty-second  chapters  of  Revelation,  all  of  which  is 
copied  and  condensed  from  the  Scriptures  of  Moses,  the 
prophets,  and  the  Book  of  Psalms.  These  suppositions 
of  Ingersoll  bear  the  general  stamp  of  his  pretended  argu- 
ments against  the  existence  of  the  infinite  intelligence 
and  almighty  power  of  the  Creator :  false  statement, 
false  premise,  and  consequently  false  conclusion,  all 
prompted  by  a  desire  to  have  it  so,  and  pushed  forward 
by  boundless  conceit  and  arrogance. 

T/ie  IVisdojfi  of  God  Questioned  by  the  Scoffer. 

Says  he :  ''  Would  an  infinitely  wise  God,  intending  to 
produce  man,  commence  with  the  lowest  possible  forms 
of  life  ;  with  the  smallest  organism  that  can  be  imagined  ; 
and  during  immeasurable  i)eriods  of  time,  slowly  and  al- 
most imperceptibly,  improve  upon  the  rude  beginning, 
until  man  was  evolved  ?  Would  countless  years  thus  be 
wasted  in  the  production  of  awkward  forms,  afterward 
abandoned?"  Ingersoll  has  adopted  Evolution  as  true 
science,  every  item  of  which  is  demonstrated  to  be  false 


fOPERY  AND   CttRiSTTAN  ZEAL.  303 

in  published  works,  of  which  he  must  be  ignorant !  No, 
Mr.  Ingersoll  !  nature  gives  the  facts,  whose  philosophic 
necessities  of  coming  into  existence,  show  that  the  most 
perfect  living  and  mature  forms  were  created  first,  and  in 
so  short  a  time  that  the  parts  first  formed  would  not  de- 
compose before  the  last  were  finished ;  that  life  is  incon- 
sistent with  a  single  rudiment  in  an  animal  or  plant  form. 
Your  blunder  is  in  adopting  evolution  as  to  the  origin  of 
things,  and  holding  the  Creator  responsible  for  its  foolish 
theory. 

He  asks,  ''  Can  the  inteUigence  of  man  discover  the 
least  wisdom  in  covering  the  earth  with  crawling,  creep- 
ing horrors  that  live  only  upon  the  pangs  of  others  ?  "  I 
wonder  if  Mr.  Ingersoll  can  see  the  wisdom  and  human- 
ity of  every  day  devouring  parts  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  in- 
nocent lambs,  whose  pangs  would  not  exist  if  he  and 
others  did  not  thus  devour.  Or  if  he  does  not  sustain 
his  valuable  life  by  causing  the  death  pangs  of  the  turkey 
and  harmless  dove.  Is  his  wisdom  indeed  so  superficial 
that  he  has  not  yet  learned  the  fact  that  there  is  not  a 
living  thing  but  which  furnishes  food  for  some  other 
living  thing ;  and  that  man  himself  devours  more  living 
creatures  than  any  other  animal ;  and  that  finally  worms 
devour  him  ?  Now,  who  can  see  the  wisdom  in  the 
Creator  thus  providing  for  man — composed  of  those 
things  which  reproduce  themselves — keeping  pace  with 
the  march  of  the  living  generations. 

Besides,  were  there  no  animals  to  live,  die,  and  decom- 
pose, in  order  to  restore  to  the  atmosphere  the  carbonic 
acid  from  which  vegetation  manufactures  their  own  food, 
in  a  very  little  while  it  would  poison  animals  to  breathe, 
and  they  would  all  become  extinct.  Of  course,  his  mind 
never  comprehended  the  teaching  of  natural  science,  of 
the  interdependence  of  the  plant  and  animal  life  of  the 
world.  Had  he  done  this,  he  would  never  have  asked 
such  silly  questions,  which  imply  the  possession  of  super- 
ior wisdom  to  that  of  his  Maker.  This  is  the  man  who 
says  science  is  on  the  side  of  atheism,  and  such  are  the 
things  he  dispenses  with  the  self-confidence  of  ignorance, 
as  science.     He  asks,   ' '  Can  we  see  the  propriety  of  so 


304      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

constructing  the  earth,  that  only  an  insignificant  portion 
of  its  surface  is  capable  of  producing  intelligent  man?  " 
Here  we  have  more  sagacious  thought,  from  the  boasting 
thinker  who  dares  think  for  himself — there  is  too  small  a 
portion  of  earth  congenial  enough  to  produce — grow 
man.  If  he  did  not  believe  in  evolution,  v.-e  might  sup- 
pose he  meant  to  say,  ''  to  sustain  the  hfe  of  man."  But 
as  men  grow  like  trees,  it  seems  to  us  that  there  is  abun- 
dance of  soil  capable  of  producing  men  of  such  ideas, 
and  it  would  not  be  much  detriment,  were  there  no  such 
soil — none  which  would  not  produce  a  higher  type  of  in- 
telligent and  good  men  than  this  scoffer  !  It  is  clear 
that,  whether  this  man  attempts  to  grapple  with  questions 
of  philosophy,  science,  or  Scripture,  he  makes  equally 
bungling  work.  Here  he  assumes  an  intelligence  so 
much  higher  than  that  possessed  by  his  Maker,  that  it 
enables  him  to  see  innumerable  mistakes,  blunders,  and 
incongruities  in  his  works,  failing  to  perceive  as  the  con- 
ditions of  living  existence  the  relation  one  thing  bears  to 
another.  He  would  have  made  everything  independent, 
all  capable  of  resisting  each  other.  It  is  the  repetition  of 
the  almost  idiotic  sentiment,  of  the  machine  finding  fault 
with  its  maker — the  creature  with  the  Creator — which 
was  long  since  philosophically  answered  thus,  "  Nay 
but,  O  vain  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God  ? 
Shall  the  thing  formed  say  to  him  that  formed  it.  Why 
hast  thou  made  me  thus?  "  (Rom.  9  :  20.)  Think  of 
it,  a  thing  that  cannot  explain  how  he  moves  a  finger, 
undertaking  to  instruct  the  Maker  of  the  world  ! 

Killing  Animals  for  Food  no  Part  of  the  Original 
Creation.  - 

It  will  have  been  seen  that  it  has  not  been  merely 
our  object,  in  this  work,  to  expose  the  shallowness  of  this 
man's  talk  as  the  mouthq)iece  of  freethinkerism  ;  but  to 
present  reasons  for  the  works  of  the  Creator  as  they  are. 
In  regard  to  the  ([uestion  of  food  for  man  and  the  lower 
animals,  we  may  remark  that  killing  was  no  })art  of 
the  creation,  but  grew  out  of  the  curse  of  the  earth  and 


POPERY   AND    CHRISTIAN   ZEAL.  305 

man  for  his  disobedience;  hence Jt  is  written,  '^  By  sin, 
death  entered  into  the  world,  and  so  death  passed 
upon  all  men,  for  all  have  sinned."  The  original  food 
for  animals  was  provided  and  described  thujs :  ''And 
God  said,  Behold,  I  have  given  you  every  herb  bear- 
ing seed,  which  is  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth,  and 
every  tree,  in  the  which  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree  yielding 
seed  ;  to  you  it  shall  be  for  meat.  And  to  every  beast  of 
the  earth,  and  to  every  fowl  of  the  air,  and  to  everything 
that  creepeth  upon  the  earth,  wherein  there  is  life,  I  have 
given  every  green  herb  for  meat  :  and  it  was  so." 
(Gen.  I  :  29-31.)  An  herb  is  a  plant  or  vegetable  with 
a  soft  succulent  stalk  or  stem,  and  which  dies  to  the  root 
every  year,  and  is  thus  distinguished  from  a  tree  or  shrub, 
which  have  ligneous,  or  hard  woody  stems.  Even  after 
sin  entered  into  the  world  with  all  its  concomitant  evils, 
the  order  of  meat  was  not  changed.  ''And  God  said 
unto  Adam,  Because  thou  hast  hearkened  unto  the  voice 
of  thy  wife,  and  hast  eaten  of  the  tree  of  which  I  com- 
manded thee  saying,  Thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it ;  cursed  is 
the  ground  for  thy  sake  ;  in  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  it 
all  the  days  of  thy  life :  Thorns  and  thistles  shall  it  bring 
forth  to  thee ;  and  thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field. 
In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread  [This  shows 
that  the  expression  herb  comprehended  bread-stuffs.]  till 
thou  return  unto  the  ground  ;  for  out  of  it  wast  thou 
taken  :  for  of  dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou 
return.  And  the  Lord  God  said.  Behold,  the  man  is 
become  as  one  of  us,  to  know  good  and  evil :  and 
now,  lest  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  take  also  of  the 
tree  of  life,  and  eat,  and  live  for  ever :  therefore  the 
Lord  God  sent  him  forth  from  the  garden  of  Eden, 
to  till  the  ground  from  whence  he  was  taken.  So  he 
drove  out  the  man  ;  and  he  placed  at  the  east  of  the 
garden  of  Eden  cherubims,  and  a  flaming  sword  which 
turned  every  way,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life." 
(Gen.  3.) 

By  this  deprivation  of  access  to  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of 
life,  which  had  the  properties  of  its  indefinite  perpetu- 
ation, man  necessarily  lost  everlasting  life,  or  died,  and 


306      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

as  the  deprivation  reached  all  subsequent  generations, 
death  thus  passed  upon  all  men.  Because  of  these  calam- 
ities upon  man  and  the  ground,  hard  labor  became  a 
necessity,  and  a  corresponding  necessity  for  more  substan- 
tial  food.  As  this  necessity  increased,  man  began  to  kill 
the  lower  animals  for  food,  whose  existence  was  provi- 
sionary  in  the  wisdom  of  God  to  meet  the  necessity  which 
had  now  come.  He  foreknew  because  he  foresaw  it  would 
come,  and  he  also  arranged  the  single,  double,  and  mixed 
teeth  to  meet  it.  Nothing  in  the  scientific  world  is  better 
known  than  that  vegetables  and  animals  furnish  food  for 
each  other.  The  organism  of  the  lamb  and  ox  converts 
vegetation  into  their  own  individual  and  peculiar  struct- 
ure, so  that  when  men  devour  these  animals  they  indi- 
rectly devour  vegetables,  and  Ingersoll's  objection  against 
animal  food  is  of  equal  force  against  vegetable  food,  with 
the  exception  of  the  pain  experienced  in  the  act  of  kill- 
ing, but  which  would  be  the  same  in  natural  death ;  but 
this  being  a  philosophical  necessity  of  organic  life,  and 
only  lessening  the  days  of  the  life  of  those  animals  used  for 
food,  was  a  necessity  in  their  creation.  The  objection  is 
founded  on  the  foolish  notion  that  it  was  possible  for  God 
to  do  an  impossibility.  Hence  to  have  made  animals 
with  sensations  and  yet  without  them.  Was  it  not  an  act 
of  goodness,  love,  and  mercy  to  have  made  man,  and  all 
other  animals,  with  an  organic  system  of  sensitive  nerves, 
from  which  every  pleasure  flows,  every  flower,  every  strain 
of  music,  every  variegated  color,  and  every  luxury  from 
cold  or  heat,  and  every  motive  resulting  in  protection 
from  their  extremes.  Indeed,  were  it  not  for  the  pleas- 
ure of  eating  and  drinking,  or  the  feeling  of  relief  they 
afford,  men  would  forget  to  eat  and  drink,  and  die  in  con- 
sequence. 

The  question  therefore  is,  whether  it  would  have  been 
a  wise  provision  to  have  had  no  pleasure  or  phase  of 
animal  happiness  for  a  lifetime,  if  it  would  free  us  from 
a  few  pangs  of  pain  while  consciously  dying?  Accord- 
ing to  Ingersoll's  reflection  upon  the  Creator  for  its  ex- 
istence, it  would  be  an  act  of  love  and  mercy  for  one  man 
to  deprive  another  of  all  sensation  during  natural  life,  in 


POPERY   AND    CHRISTIAN   ZEAL.  30/ 

order  to  relieve  him  from  a  few  moments'  pain  just  before 
it  ended,  and  thus  convert  murder  into  goodness.  Here 
again  do  we  behold  the  absurdity  of  Ingersoll's  criticism 
on  infinite  wisdom  and  love.  But  the  extent  of  the  folly- 
is  only  seen  by  taking  into  the  account  the  fact,  that  in 
this  short  and  suffering  life,  we  may  avail  ourselves  of  the 
proposition  made  by  the  Creator,  to  introduce  us  into  a 
re-created  world,  where  death  will  never  come,  and  as  a 
consequence  physical  derangement  in  no  degree  can  exist. 
IngersoU  being  ignorant  of  this  promised  destiny,  which 
every  man  holds  in  his  own  hands,  he  talks  about  the 
present  moment's  living  and  dying  as  though  it  was  with- 
out end ;  while  it  is  only  the  industrial  school  to  prepare 
the  scholar  for  an  endless  life  of  health  and  happiness. 

What  Kind  of  Reformers  are  Atheists  ? 

The  sceptic  says  :  ''If  abuses  are  destroyed,  man  must 
destroy  them."  [And,  we  may  add,  that  Christians  are 
the  only  men  who  do  such  work.]  "  If  new  truths  are 
discovered,  man  must  discover  them."  [And  the  history 
of  discovery  reveals  the  fact  that  its  most  splendid  periods 
have  been  those  wherein  Christianity  was  unrestrained  by 
.civil  enactments;  and  the  vast  majority  of  discoveries 
have  been  those  inspired  by  Christian  principle  and  hope, 
while  atheism  quenches  its  fires  and  blunts  every  noble 
sentiment.]  He  says,  "  If  justice  is  done,  labor  rewarded, 
the  hungry  fed,  and  the  naked  clothed,  man  must  do  it." 
Yes  !  but  this  is  not  and  never  has  been  the  work  of 
atheism — an  inseparable  mixture  of  pride,  jealousy,  and 
selfishness — while  this  work  is  ranked  among  the  most 
prominent  enjoinments  of  the  Christian  religion.  Listen 
to  its  voice  upon  the  subject :  "  Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men, 
weep  and  howl  for  your  miseries  that  shall  come  upon  you. 
Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments  are  moth- 
eaten.  Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered ;  and  the  rust 
of  them  shall  be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat  your 
flesh  as  it  were  fire.  Ye  have  heaped  treasure  together  for 
the  last  days.  Behold,  the  hire  of  the  laborers  who  have 
reaped  down  your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept  back  by  fraud, 


308      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

crieth  :  and  the  cries  of  them  are  entered  into  the  ears  of 
the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.  Ye  have  condemned  and  killed  the 
just ;  and  he  doth  not  resist  you.  Be  patient  therefore, 
brethren,  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord."  (James  5.) 
Here  is  the  work  of  the  Christian  Church — its  suffering 
from  the  oppression  by  the  rich,  its  promised  reward,  and 
the  coming  of  the  Lord  to  confer  it. 

He  says:  ''If  superstition  is  to  be  driven  from  the 
mind,  man  is  to  do  it."  This  enunciates  a  good  work  ; 
but  whatever  is  done  toward  it,  must  be  the  work  of 
Christians,  and  not  atheists  :  Satan  makes  bad  work  in 
casting  out  Satan.  Superstition  means  a  belief  of  that 
which  is  absurd — that  for  which  there  is  no  evidence,  and 
which  is  connected  with  religion.  Atheists  believe  either 
that  the  world  was  never  made,  or  that  it  made  itself,  or 
that  it  came  by  the  laws  of  nature,  which  they  interpret 
to  be  active  myths,  abstract  from  nature  and  existing  be- 
fore it.  In  the  days  of  Paul,  there  were  men  in  Athens 
of  this  class,  who  had  no  evidence  for  the  belief  of  a  God, 
and  this  because  they  knew  nothing  about  him,  and  yet 
like  IngersoU  wrote  and  talked  about  him  :  ''  Then  Paul 
stood  in  the  midst  of  Mars'  hill,  and  said.  Y^e  men  of 
Athens,  I  perceive  that  in  all  things  ye  are  too  supersti- 
tious :  for  as  I  passed  by,  I  beheld  an  altar  with  this  in- 
scription, TO  THE  UNKNOWN  GOD."  Ignorance 
and  superstition  are  Siamese  twins ;  and  IngersoU  pro- 
fesses to  know  nothing  about  God — has  no  evidence  for 
his  existence — totally  ignorant  of  the  science  of  nature, 
whose  princii[)les  demonstrate  his  existence,  and  as  totally 
ignorant  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures, 
which  also  demonstrate  them  to  have  originated  in  the 
Mind  of  God.  This  ignorance  he  calls  unbelief,  being  too 
proud  to  call  it  by  its  proper  name  :  ignorant  superstition. 
The  pretender  continues:  ''If  the  defenceless  are  pro- 
tected and  the  right  finally  triumphs,  all  must  be  the  work 
of  man.  The  grand  victories  of  the  future  must  be  won  by 
man,  and  by  man  alone."  Yes  !  but  the  voice  of  history 
declares  that  no  victories  for  the  good  of  mankind  were 
ever  won  by  atheists,  and  if  we  heed  its  warning  voice, 
no  good  is  to  be   looked  for  from  that  source.     This   is 


POPERY   AND    CHRISTIAN   ZEAL.  309 

an  attempt  to  hypocritically  steal  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity with  which  to  oppose  it. 

He  says  :  "  During  that  frightful  period  known  as  the 
'  dark  ages/  faith  reigned,  with  scarcely  a  rebellious  sub- 
ject. [No,  sir,  faith  in  its  very  nature  is  founded  upon 
evidence,  and  what  then  reigned  was  the  sentiment,  "  Ig- 
norance is  the  mother  of  superstition."  It  won't  do, 
Robert,  to  confound  the  knowledge  and  fear  of  offending 
God  with  ignorance  and  no  fear  of  him  !]  Her  temples 
were  carpeted  with  knees,  and  the  wealth  of  nations 
adorned  her  costly  and  numerous  shrines.  The  great 
painters  prostituted  their  genius  to  immortalize  her  va- 
garies, while  the  poets  enshrined  them  in  song.  At  her 
bidding  man  covered  the  earth  with  blood.  The  scales  of 
justice  turned  with  her  gold,  and  for  her  use  were  invented 
all  the  cunning  instruments  of  pain.  She  built  cathedrals 
for  God,  and  dungeons  for  men.  She  peopled  the  clouds 
with  angels  and  the  earth  with  slaves."  No  !  Mr.  Inger- 
soll,  this  is  the  picture  of  the  false  Church — the  very  anti- 
thesis of  Christianity.  It  was  the  martyrer  of  the  true 
Church,  whose  sacrificial  blood  you  have  just  described ; 
the  prehistoric  record  of  wliich  occupies  a  very  large 
part  of  the  prophesies,  to  predict,  and  two-thirds  of  the 
book  called  Revelation,  to  reveal ;  besides  being  the  bur- 
den of  profane  history  for  a  thousand  years,  which  simply 
records  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophetic  events.  But  Inger- 
soll  being  destitute  of  this  knowledge,  fits  him  to  commit 
this  blunder  also. 

That  Jesus  Christ  and  his  system  are  not  responsible 
for  this  work  of  slavery  and  blood,  is  shown  by  the  pre- 
historic record,  announcing  him  as  the  grandest  emanci- 
pator of  which  it  is  possible  to  form  a  just  conception. 
*'  And  he  came  into  Nazareth,  where  he  had  been  brought 
up,  and  as  his  custom  was,  he  went  into  the  synagogue  on 
the  sabbath  day,  and  stood  up  to  read.  And  there  was 
delivered  unto  him  the  book  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  and 
he  found  the  place  where  it  was  written.  And  the  spirit 
of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed 
me  to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recovering 
of  sight  to  the  bhnd,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised, 


310      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek,  to  proclaim  Hberty 
to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  prisons  to  them 
that  are  bound."  ''Is  not  this  the  fast  that  I  have 
chosen?  to  loose  the  bands  of  wickedness,  to  undo  the 
heavy  burdens,  and  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free,  and  that 
ye  break  every  yoke  ?  That  thou  deal  thy  bread  to  the 
hungry,  and  that  thou  bring  the  poor  that  are  cast  out  to 
thy  house  ?  When  thou  seest  the  naked,  that  thou  cover 
him,  and  that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh." 
(Isa.  6i  :  I,  and  58  :  6,  7.)  (Luke  4  :  16-18.)  "  Remem- 
ber them  that  are  in  bonds  as  bound  with  them,  and  them 
which  suffer  adversity  as  being  yourselves  also  in  the 
flesh."  (Heb.  13:3.)  '' If  the  Son  shall  make  you 
free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed."     (John  8  :  ;^6.) 

That  Christianity  was  not  responsible  for  the  persecu- 
tion to  which  Ingersoll  alludes,  or  was  authorized  by  its 
founder,  is  further  shown  by  such  language  as  the  follow- 
ing :  "  Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto  you,  the  ser- 
vant is  not  greater  than  his  Lord.  If  they  have  perse- 
cuted me,  they  will  also  persecute  y-ou  ;  if  they  have 
kept  my  sayings,  they  will  keep  yours  also.  But  all  these 
things  will  they  do  unto  you  for  my  name's  sake,  because 
they  know  not  him  that  sent  me."  (John  15  :  20,  21.) 
"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  ye  should 
not  be  offended.  They  shall  put  you  out  of  the  syna- 
gogues ;  yea,  the  time  will  come,  that  whosoever  killeth 
you  will  think  that  he  doeth  God  service."  (John  16: 
1,2.)  ''  Offences  must  come,  but  woe  unto  that  man  by 
whom  the  offence  cometh  :  it  were  better  that  a  millstone 
were  hanged  about  his  neck  and  that  he  were  cast  into 
the  depth  of  the  sea,  than  that  he  should  offend  one  of 
these  little  ones  which  believe  in  me."  Ingersoll  thinks 
that  if  we  induce  men  to  reject  Christ  and  his  religion, 
all  superstition  and  i)ersecution  will  be  gone.  There  is, 
however,  no  surer  test  of  Christianity  and  contrast  be- 
tween saints  and  sinners,  than  that  of  persecution  :  those 
who  suffer  it  for  Christ's  sake  are  saints ;  while  those  who 
inflict  it  are  sinners,  even  though  they  think  that  thus 
they  do  God  service.  This  was  the  work  of  the  false 
Church  for  a  thousand  years,  and  which  is  symbolized  by 


poperV  and  christian  zeal.  311 

the  Great  Babylon  of  the  Revelation  and  the  prophets, 
and  when  the  punishment  predicted  by  Christ  comes  upon 
her  :  that  a  great  millstone,  as  it  were,  sinks  her  into  the 
depth  of  the  sea,  and  which  he  inspired  John  to  write 
was  in  these  words  :  ''  Rejoice  over  her,  thou  heaven, 
and  ye  holy  apostles  and  prophets  ;  for  God  hath  avenged 
you  on  her.  And  a  mighty  angel  took  up  a  stone  like-  a 
great  millstone,  and  cast  it  into  the  sea,  saying,  Thus 
with  violence  shall  great  Babylon  be  thrown  down,  and 
shall  be  found  no  more  at  all."  (Rev.  18:  20,  21.) 
What  horrid  darkness  of  mind  and  wilful  ignorance  must 
Ingersoll  labor  under,  to  confound  these  two  classes  and 
characters,  denouncing  the  killed  with  the  killers — the 
offended  with  the  offenders — the  flowing  blood  of  the 
persecuted  with  the  bloody  work  of  the  persecutors  !  If 
he  does  this  knowingly,  he  manifests  the  character  of  the 
most  public  defamer  of  Christ  and  his  Church ;  and  if  he 
does  it  ignorantly,  he  is  twice  guilty — for  not  enlighten- 
ing himself,  as  well  as  for  the  persecution. 

Atheism  has  had  but  one  Period  of  Power  afid  Success. 

In  the  history  of  the  world,  atheists  have  never  had 
but  one  period  of  civil  power,  and  if  you  want  to  know 
how  they  used  it,  ask  the  crammed  prisons  and  guillotine 
of  the  Parisian  Feign  of  terror.  Ingersoll  animadverts 
against  the  dark  ages,  but  had  the  atheist  held  its  power 
for  a  thousand  years,  the  people  of  every  nation  to  which 
it  extended  would  have  been  robbed  and  murdered,  just 
as  the  Parisians  were.  It  therefore  comes  with  an  ill 
grace  from  this  representative  of  freethinkerism  to  reflect 
upon  any  period  or  nation,  as  covering  the  earth  with 
blood,  or  building  dungeons  for  men.  These  are  the 
men  that  promise  the  people  liberty  if  they  will  only  turn 
against  God,  and  adopt  their  boundless  pride  and  conceit 
— that  no  being  exists  superior  to  themselves,  and  the 
foolish  superstition  that  man  and  the  world  came  into 
existence  without  the  aid  even  of  a  living  myth. 


312      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 


The  Scoffer  Harangues  the  People  to  Rebel  Against  God. 

He  says  :  '*  Of  what  use  has  God  been  to  man  ?  [We 
might  change  the  form  of  the  question  and  ask,  of  what 
use  are  men  to  God,  especially  such  as  those  who  are 
only  happy  in  Satanic  glee,  when  they  are  abusing  him 
and  trying  to  induce  others  to  do  likewise?]  It  is  no 
answer  to  say  that  some  God  created  the  world,  estab- 
lished certain  laws,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  other 
matters,  leaving  his  children  too  weak  and  ignorant  to 
fight  the  battle  of  life  alone.  [In  answer  we  may  say, 
that  none  but  Ingersoll  and  those  of  whom  he  is  the 
mouth-piece,  and  a  few  devil-worshippers  in  the  interior 
of  Africa,  ever  said  that  God  abandoned  the  world  after 
having  made  it,  leaving  his  children  alone.]  It  is  no 
solution  to  declare,  that  in  some  other  world  God  will 
render  a  few,  or  even  all,  his  subjects  happy.  What  right 
have  we  to  expect  that  a  perfectly  wise,  good,  and  pow- 
erful being  will  ever  do  better  than  he  has  done,  and  is 
doing  ?  The  world  is  filled  with  imperfections.  If  it 
was  made  by  an  infinite  l:)eing,  have  we  any  ground  for 
saying  that  he  will  render  it  nearer  perfect  than  it  is  now. 
If  the  infinite  Father  allows  a  majority  of  his  children  to 
live  in  ignorance  and  wretchedness  now,  what  evidence 
have  we  that  he  will  ever  imi)rove  their'  condition  ?  Will 
God  have  more  power  ?  Will  he  become  more  merciful  ? 
Will  his  love  for  his  poor  creatures  increase?  Can  the 
conduct  of  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and  love  change  ?  Is 
the  infinite  capable  of  imi)rovement  ?  " 

As  Ingersoll  is  ignorant  of  the  will  and  power  of  God, 
revealed  in  his  Word  and  in  the  nature  of  man,  even  of 
this  man  himself,  who  hates  what  little  he  does  know,  it 
is  natural  that  he  should  a.sk  such  questions.  As  an 
example,  let  us  ask,  how  can  God  imi)rove  him  ?  He  is 
so  ignorant  of  the  Bible  that  he  cannot  expound  a 
doctrine  it  contains.  God  has  said  to  him,  *'  Search  the 
Scriptures,  that  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me,"  and 
that  such  knowledge  is  able  to  make  him  wise  unto  salva- 
tion ;  but  he  has  despised  the  command  and  disobeyed 


POPERY   AND   CHRISTIAN   ZEAL.  313 

the  instruction.  Now,  suppose  infinite  power  took  pos- 
session of,  and  controlled  his  mind,  compelling  him,  for 
the  time  being,  to  love  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  to 
love  to  search  it  for  the  truth  ;  love  to  teach  it  to 
others,  to  do  which  would  make  him  an  entirely  differ- 
ent man  ;  but  what  credit  would  that  be  to  him — what 
virtue  would  it  be  to  Ingersoll  ?  He  fought  against  the 
change  and  never  yielded,  what  he  now  did  and  became 
was  because  his  volition  had  been  destroyed  by  the  com- 
pelling power  of  the  being  that  made  him.  Let  that 
being  remove  the  mental  and  physical  force  from  the 
organism  of  the  sceptic,  and  he  would  be  the  same  hater 
of  God  and  his  word  he  was  before.  Whatever  good 
was  said  or  done  by  him  after  being  reduced  to  a  mere 
machine,  must  be  put  down  to  the  credit  of  the  compel- 
ling power  of  his  God :  How  can  God  improve  a  per- 
sistent rebel  ? 

In  his  fight  with  his  Maker,  he  has  the  infernal  audac- 
ity of  abusing  his  Creator  because  he  will  not  change  to 
suit  him — and  sucti  a  change  wrought  as  we  have  sup- 
posed, would  show  an  improvement  on  the  part  of  God. 
No  man  could  say  such  things  who  had  the  faintest  con- 
ception of  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  philosophy  in- 
volved in  his  own  nature,  that  renders  him  with  all  the 
species  so  high  in  the  scale  of  being,  that  it  is  impossible 
to  compel  him  to  do  the  least  act,  not  even  to  lift  a  foot 
or  finger.  A  stronger  than  he  may  lift  the  foot  or  raise 
the  finger,  just  as  he  might  if  the  man  was  dead ;  but  it 
would  be  the  act  of  the  physically  stronger,  and  he  alone 
would  be  responsible  for  it.  If  infinite  power  forced  the 
will  to  move  the  foot  or  finger,  or  compelled  the  mental 
and  moral  organism  to  pray,  it  would  not  be  the  act  of 
the  man,  but  that  of  him  who  exerted  the  force.  It  was 
God  and  not  the  man  that  prayed.  To  force  a  man  to 
do  a  voluntary  act,  is  a  contradiction  in  terms.  It 
virtually  says,  the  act  is  at  once  both  voluntary  and  in- 
voluntary. It  is  the  same  indomitable  power  with 
which  even  all  the  lower  animals  are  endowed ;  and  to 
which  the  adage  gives  expression:  ''You  may  lead  a 
horse  to  the  water,  but  you  cannot  make  him  drink." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

METAPHYSICAL    PHILOSOPHY    OF  POWER. 

When  we  ascribe  wisdom  and  power  to  God,  and 
then  interpret  it  to  mean  that  he  can  do  things  incon- 
sistent with  the  nature  and  power  of  other  minds  he  has 
made — repugnant  and  antagonistic  to  his  own  wishes  and 
purposes — we  do  that  for  which  we  have  no  authority. 
According  to  the  dynamical  philosophy  in  the  nature  of 
beings  of  mind,  each  grade  and  individual  is  omnipotent 
within  his  sphere  of  action.  When  God  made  a  man  a 
man,  it  carried  with  it  the  alternative  that  he  could  do 
as  he  pleased,  and  that  the  power  to  please  and  obey  his 
Maker  conferred  also  the  power  to  displease  and  dis- 
obey ;  leaving  the  alternative  to  make  him  thus,  or  not 
to  make  him  with  a  will,  and  therefore  like  a  plant. 
Reasoning  from  the  known  to  the  unknown,  the  analogy 
forces  the  conclusion,  that  the  Maker  of  man  had  a  pur- 
pose to  accomplish  in  the  act  of  his  creation,  as  it  is  im- 
possible for  man  to  do  the  least  act  without  first  forming 
a  i)urpose  ;  and  as  it  is  the  accomi)lishment  of  that  purpose 
which  constitutes  the  motive  actuating  it,  the  analogy 
teaches  that  the  purpose  of  God  in  the  act  of  man's 
creation  must  have  been  that  he  should  please  and  obey 
his  Maker,  and  the  power  to  please  and  obey  carried 
with  it  the  power  to  displease  and  disobey.  These  acts 
must  not  only  be  voluntary,  but  in  accordance  with  the 
inducement  held  out  to  the  creature  by  the  Creator  ; 
and  as  the  mental  jjrocesses  involve  the  impulses  or  feel- 
ings of  the  heart,  it  also  follows  tliat  the  man,  won  by 
the  inducement,  becomes  a  loving,  loyal  subject  of  the 
will  of  his  Maker,  and  has  a  rational  hope  of  an  im- 
mortal resurrection  and  an  incorruptible  inheritance  in 
the  coming  re-created  world.     It  cannot  be  denied  that 


METAPEIYSICAL   PHILOSOPHY    OF   POWER.      315 

if  one  man  may  accept  this  offer,  every  other  man  may 
do  the  same,  and  if  either  may  accept  it  they  may  also 
reject  it.  It  is  another  universally  acknowledged  fact 
that  every  man  and  woman  have  experienced  feelings  of 
aversion  to  that  which  they  conceived  to  be  the  will  and 
wishes  of  God  concerning  them  at  the  time  ;  ,and  have 
therefore  done  acts  which  they  knew  were  displeasing  to 
him  and  rebellious  against  his  will.  It  is  another  fact 
attested  by  millions  of  living,  rational  beings,  and  from 
among  the  same  class  of  people,  that  subsequently  they 
passed  through  another  experience  by  which  the  same 
God,  without  change  on  his  part,  looked  upon  them  with 
complacency,  as  of  a  loving  Father. 

It  is  another  fact,  that  all  those  who  had  ceased  to 
hold  the  unnatural  and  hopeless  conflict  with  their  Maker, 
have  been  induced  to  do  so  upon  the  condition  that  his 
service,  as  described  in  the  Bible,  was  to  be  performed 
during  natural  life,  and  the  pay,  or  reward  not  to  be 
given  until  the  re-creation  of  the  world,  and  faith  in  the 
anticipation  of  this  made  them  happier  in  the  mortal  life 
than  though  they  possessed  all  the  wealth,  pleasure,  and 
honor  the  present  world  affords.  The  trouble  with  In- 
gersoll  and  his  like  is,  that  being  still  on  the  rebellious 
side  of  the  question,  he  is  involved  in  the  total  darkness 
inseparable  from  ignorance  upon  the  subject,  and  has 
none  of  the  loving,  loyal  experience  of  which  we  speak  ; 
being  still  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world," 
as  the  Scripture  expresses  it.  Of  course,  he  can  have  no 
other  conception  than  that  all  men  are  in  the  same  con- 
dition of  mind  as  himself.  Hence  the  folly  of  the  reflec- 
tion upon  God  for  not  making  him  a  saint.  It  seems  as 
though  the  man  has  mental  calibre  sufficient  to  compre- 
hend the  theory  of  our  argument — the  experimental  part 
we  doubt  whether  he  will  ever  know  :  not  that  the 
mercy  of  God  is  too  limited  to  reach  such  a  sinner  ;  but 
the  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  has  abused  God, 
Christ,  and  the  Bible  so  inveterately,  and  so  pubhcly 
committed  himself  against  the  gospel,  that  his  pride  of 
heart  and  opinion  will  forever  prevent  him  from  repent- 
ing, so  as  to  look  upon  God  as  his  Creator,  and  Christ 


3l6      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

as  his  Saviour,  or  from  receiving  the  Scriptures  as  con- 
taining the  revealed  will  of  God  to  man. 

"  Try  what  repentance  can  ;  what  can  it  not  ? 
Yet  what  can  it,  when  one  cannot  repent  ?  " — Shak. 


Nature  a?id  Philosophy  of  Worship. 

The  infidel  says  :  ''  Nations,  like  individuals,  have  their 
periods  of  growth,  of  manhood,  and  of  decay."  Rehgions 
are  the  same,  and  the  same  inexorable  destiny  awaits  all. 
The  gods  created  by  the  nations  must  perish  with  their 
creators.  They  were  made  by  men,  and  like  men  they 
must  pass  away.  The  deities  of  one  age  are  the  by-words 
of  the  next.  Ingersoll  said  this  about  the  gods  before, 
in  answer  to  which  we  showed  every  statement  of  it  to 
be  in  contradiction  to  the  history  of  the  national  gods. 
But  in  answer  to  what  he  says  about  religion  we  may 
reply,  that  it  is  not  a  fact  that  man  created  it,  of  what- 
ever form ;  but  that  its  existence,  like  that  of  man  him- 
self, is  a  truth  of  nature,  a  truth  of  the  highest  philo- 
sophical science,  of  which  man  is  the  natural  exponent, 
the  illustration,  the  manifestation.  It  is  as  natural  to 
him  as  that  he  is  a  mental  and  moral  being,  of  which 
religion  is  the  appetite  and  the  Word  of  God  the  food, 
equally  universal  as  that  his  physical  appetite  exists  and 
finds  its  food  in  the  provisions  of  God,  in  nature. 

The  first  development  of  childish  abstract  reasoning, 
asks  ''  Who  made  me?"  conscious  of  the  existence  of  a 
being  above  the  inquirer  of  sufficient  knowledge  and 
power  to  have  performed  the  work,  and  by  the  implied 
concession  beginning  to  pay  the  honor,  the  worship 
which  is  his  due.  [No  child  ever  asked  the  atheistic 
questions,  implying  doubt,  "  Did  anyone  make  me?  "  or 
'*  Was  I  made?  "]  This  is  religion,  and  these  universal 
and  almost  infantile  expressions  demonstrate  it  to  be 
inborn.  Thus  every  human  being  finds  himself  endowed 
with  intellectual  faculties,  which  compel  him  to  search 
after  a  being  superior  to  himself,  as  well  as  with  a  set  of 
moral  faculties,  such  as  veneration  and  love,  inciting  him 


METAPHYSICAL  PHILOSOPHY   OF  POWER.      317 

to  adore  this  higher  something,  and  to  love  him  for  the 
goodness  implanted  in  his  capacities  for  pleasure  and 
happiness,  and  the  surrounding  resources  in  nature  for 
their  gratification. 

This  is  religion,  and  whether  written  in  a  book,  or 
expressed  in  outward  symbols,  as  the  existence  of  the 
gods,  or  their  images,  still  it  is  religious  worship  and 
originated  by  creative  implantation ;  and  we  may  add, 
that  if  the  errors  in  religious  faith  and  practice  of  the 
individual  do  not  prevent  him  from  honoring  and  loving 
this  living  God,  to  which  these  noble  faculties  of  the 
gospel  of  nature,  his  nature,  points  his  faith,  then  he  is 
one  of  his  children  and  with  them  awaits  the  glorious 
destiny  of  all.  It  is  clear  from  this  that  religion  is  a 
unite  unchanged  by  the  variety  of  the  modes  in  which  it 
manifests  itself,  either  among  nations,  governments,  or 
generations.  If  this  be  so,  it  may  be  said  that  all  wor- 
ship God  but  the  freethinkers,  who  have  so  blunted  their 
natural  sensibilities  that  they  see  no  God  in  the  universe ; 
each  of  whom  considers  himself  the  highest  living  being, 
which  reduces  his  worship  to  self-worship,  and  his  hope, 
if  he  has  any,  to  self-reward.  This  is  the  culmination 
of  his  poverty-stricken  independence  ;  the  champion  of 
whom  is  Robert  G.  Ingersoll.  National  religion  is  the 
honor  and  loyalty  paid  to  a  sovereign,  or  chief- ruler, 
and  for  a  citizen  of  one  nation  to  pay  to  the  ruler  of 
another,  is  treason  to  his  own  lawful  chief;  of  course,  for 
any  religionist  to  so  confound  an  idol  with  his  God  and 
Creator,  as  to  honor  and  love  it,  is  idol  treason  to  his 
only  lawful  God.  Nothing  is  more  universally  conceded, 
and  justly  so,  than  that  a  father  should  receive  the  honor 
and  obedience  of  his  children,  and  for  them  to  repudiate 
this  by  rendering  it  to  another,  without  repentance  and 
reformation,  is  an  unpardonable  affront ;  it  is  the  sin  of 
idolatry  to  the  father ;  and  yet  he  is  but  the  agent  of 
their  existence,  while  God  is  the  Creator,  and  therefore 
the  proprietor  of  all  men,  hence  the  deeper  turpitude  of 
the  offence,  and  merited  punishment. 

It  is  self-evident  that  these  intelligent  creatures  of 
God's  handiwork   cannot  please  and  obey  him  without 


3l8      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

being  first  instructed  in  the  nature  and  character  of  those 
things  pleasing  to  and  approved  by  him,  as  that  a  child 
cannot  perform  the  will  and  pleasure  of  his  human  father, 
unless  that  father  should  instruct  him  in  relation  to  those 
things  he  approves  and  disapproves.  A  bright  child 
may  infer  the  will  of  the  father  by  his  goodness  toward 
him,  without  further  revelation,  and  be  thus  induced  to 
honor  and  love  him ;  and  so  a  philosopher  may  see  God 
revealed  in  nature,  and  be  thus  induced  to  honor  and 
love  him,  which  is  natural  and  true  religion ;  but  to 
facilitate  this  knowledge  and  to  enable  the  Creator  to 
accomplish  his  object  with  man  and  the  world,  in  the 
shortest  time  the  nature  of  the  elements  will  admit,  it 
becomes  necessary  that  a  written  revelation  of  his  will 
should  be  made  to  man,  clearly  describing  those  things 
he  approves  and  disapproves.  The  investigation  of  such 
a  revelation  becomes  an  individual  necessity,  if  he  would 
meet  the  demands  of  his  great  Father,  which  are  im- 
posed by  such  language  as  the  following;  ''Search  the 
Scriptures  ;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life  ;  and 
they  are  they  which  testify  of  me."  (John  5:39.) 
They  reveal  the  fact  and  nature  of  endless  being,  and  the 
conditions  upon  which  it  is  offered.  To  encourage  the 
investigation,  they  give  such  assurance  as  this,  ''If  any 
man  will  do  his  will  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine 
whether  it  be  of  God."     (John  7  :  17.) 

The  Gods  the  People  Make. 

In  this  relation  to  image- worship,  its  tendency  to  lead 
to  the  veneration  of  the  images  themselves,  we  would 
expect  to  find  the  will  of  God  clearly  and  emphatically 
expressed,  and  the  practice  forbidden.  A  few  of  these 
passages  read  as  follows:  "Everyman  is  brutish  in  his 
knowledge  :  every  founder  is  confounded  by  the  graven 
image,  for  his  molten  image  is  falsehood,  and  there  is  no 
breath  in  them.  They  are  vanity,  and  the  work  of 
errors  ;  in  the  time  of  their  visitation  they  shall  perish." 
(Jer.  10  :  14,  15.)  "  Thus  saith  the  T>ord,  learn  not  the 
way  of  the  heathen,   nor  be  dismayed  at  the  signs  of 


METAPHYSICAL  PHILOSOPHY   OF  POWER.      319 

heaven  ;  for  the  customs  of  the  people  are  vain  :  for  one 
cutteth  a  tree  of  the  forest,  the  work  of  the  hands  of  the 
workman,  with  an  axe.  They  deck  it  with  silver  and 
gold  ;  they  fasten  it  with  nails  and  with  hammers,  that  it 
move  not.  They  are  upright  as  the  palm-tree,  but  speak 
not ;  they  must  needs  be  borne,  because  they  cannot  go. 
Be  not  afraid  of  them,  for  they  cannot  do  evil,  neither  is 
it  in  them  to  do  good."  (Jer.  10:  2-5.)  ''They 
tempted  and  provoked  the  most  high  God,  and  kept  not 
his  testimonies  ;  they  moved  him  to  jealousy  with  their 
graven  images  ;  when  God  heard  this  he  was  wroth,  and 
greatly  abhorred  Israel."  (Ps.  78:  56-59.)  ''  I  am  the 
Lord  :  that  is  my  name  :  and  my  glory  will  I  not  give  to 
another,  neither  my  praise  to  graven  images."  (Ps.  42  : 
8.)  '' Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me.  Thou 
shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image,  or  any  likeness 
of  anything  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or  in  the  earth  beneath, 
or  that  is  in  the  water  under  the  earth  ;  thou  shalt  not  bow 
down  thyself  to  them,  for  I,  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a  jealous 
God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children 
unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate 
me  ;  and  showing  mercy  unto  thousands  of  them  that  love 
me  and  keep  my  commandments."    (Ex.  20.) 

Here  we  see  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  the  infidels  in 
confounding  image  worship  with  that  of  the  living  and 
true  God,  and  because  some  of  these  nations  abandon  the 
religion  of  idol  worship,  and  if  the  religion  dies,  that  the 
same  destined  extinction  awaits  the  religion  and  worship 
of  the  living  God — that  because  the  corruption  of  a  thing 
dies,  becomes  extinct,  the  same  destiny  awaits  the  pure  ; 
because  counterfeit  dollars  become  extinct,  the  same 
destiny  awaits  all  pure  dollars.  This  is  the  shallow  rea- 
soning of  the  infidels.  They  rob  God  of  the  honor  due 
him,  by  rendering  it  to  other  things,  and  commit  the  same 
offence  by  withholding  it  from  him  ;  and  in  their  ignorant 
pride  the  freethinkers  suppose  they  worship  no  god,  while 
they  have  only  changed  it  to  other  objects  of  love  and 
sacrifice ;  even  the  very  love  and  pride  that  they  worship 
nothing,  is  the  idol  of  their  heart's  devotion.  Of  such  it 
is  said,   ''Ye  have  set  up  your  idols  in   your  hearts." 


320      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

The  love  of  vain  glory,  empty  boasting  pride,  is  the  god  of 
the  atheist,  and  ranks  him  below  any  heathen  religionist, 
all  of  whom  held  and  hold  their  gods  to  be  greater  than 
themselves,  while  the  conceit  of  the  atheist  puffs  him  up 
higher  than  anything  or  being  in  the  universe,  and  who 
thus  performs  self-devotion. 

Let  us  listen  to  our  oracle's  floundering  fulminations 
among  the  gods,  things  of  which  he  is  totally  unac- 
quainted. ''  The  religion  of  our  day  is  no  more  exempt 
from  the  sneer  of  the  future  than  the  others  have  been," 
just  as  though  all  the  religions  but  Christianity  had  be- 
come extinct.  Of  course,  the  religion  of  Christ  never  did 
and  never  will  escape  the  sneer  of  the  scoffer,  especially 
as  the  world  approximates  the  ignorance  and  irreligion  of 
the  antediluvians,  which  Christ  says  it  will  reach,  at  the 
time  he  comes  to  put  an  end  to  it.  Hence  we  read, 
*'  Knowing  this  first,  that  there  shall  come  in  the  last 
days  scoffers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying, 
Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ?  for  since  the  fathers 
fell  asleep  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  creation,  for  of  this  they  are  willingly 
ignorant."  (2  Pet.  3:  3-5.)  "These  are  murmurers, 
complainers  [Even  complaining  against  God  for  his  im- 
perfections.], walking  after  their  own  lusts  ;  and  with  their 
mouth  speaking  great  swelling  words,  having  men's  per- 
sons in  admiration  because  of  advantage,  clouds  are  they 
without  water,  carried  about  of  winds  ;  trees  whose  fruit 
withereth,  without  fruit,  twice  dead,  plucked  up  by  the 
roots  ;  raging  waves  of  the  sea  foaming  out  their  own 
shame  ;  wandering  stars  to  whom  is  reserved  the  black- 
ness of  darkness  forever."  (Jude.)  How  near  IngersoU 
and  the  rest  of  the  puffed  up  atheists  and  scientific  free- 
thinkers who  were  to  come  in  the  last  days,  answer  to 
this  predicted  picture  our  readers  must  judge,  but  to  our 
mind  and  in  our  day,  these  have  gone  beyond  its  highest 
coloring.  "  But  as  the  days  of  Noah  were,  so  also  shall 
the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  be  :  For  as  in  the  days  that 
were  before  the  flood,  they  were  eating  and  drinking, 
marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noah 
entered  into  the  ark,  and  knew  not  until  the  flood  came 


METAPHYSICAL  PHILOSOPHY   OF  POWER.      32 1 

and  took  them  all  away  ;  so  shall  also  the  coming  of 
the  Son  of  Man  be."  (Matt.  24  :  37-39.)  Who  cannot 
see,  that  the  scoffing  success  of  Ingersollism  is  bringing 
about  precisely  such  a  state  of  the  world,  through  whose 
ignorant  sneers  and  ridicule,  bringing  Bible  study  and 
teaching  less  than  ever  before  since  the  reformation. 
Even  those  who  pretend  to  teach  it,  substitute  the 
opinions  of  men,  and  thus  drag  it  down  to  the  level  of 
the  sceptical  science  of  chronological  geology  and  evolu- 
tion ;  for  whose  conclusions  science  is  no  more  respon- 
sible than  is  the  Bible  for  the  corrupt  compromise. 

Ingersoll  asks,  Who  Will  Supersede  Christ? 

The  scoffer  says  :  ''  When  India  was  supreme,  Brahma 
sat  upon  the  world's  throne.  When  the  sceptre  passed 
to  Egypt,  Isis  and  Osiris  received  the  homage  of  man- 
kind." [This  is  contrary  to  history,  for  ancient  Egypt, 
and  it  is  about  those  times  he  speaks,  was  always  supe- 
rior to  India,  and  never  borrowed  her  gods.  Nor  is  it 
true  that  any  one  of  the  idol  gods  ruled  the  world,  nor 
that  they  succeeded  each  other  in  receiving  the  homage 
of  mankind  ;  for  no  god  or  rehgion  was  ever  universal.] 
*'  When  Greece,  with  her  fierce  valor,  swept  to  empire, 
Zeus  put  on  the  purple  authority."  This  is  also  an  his- 
toric blunder,  as  it  skips  the  Chaldean  and  Medo-Persian 
monarchies,  both  of  whom  held  Egypt  as  a  dependency 
before  Greece  swept  to  power.  Neither  did  Greece  put 
on  the  purple,  which  was  the  badge  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire. Nor  did  Zeus  become  the  national  god  of  Greece, 
for  this  god  of  her's  was  always  ''  Diana."  This,  how- 
ever, has  nothing  to  do  with  the  argument ;  but  it  serves 
to  show  the  superficiaHty  of  the  scoffer's  learning,  and 
detracts  from  the  reliability  of  what  he  quotes  as  matter 
of  fact,  including  what  he  quotes  from  the  Bible  and  his- 
tory. He  continues:  ''The  earth  trembled  with  the 
tread  of  Rome's  intrepid  sons,  and  Jove  grasped  with 
mailed  hand  the  thunderbolts  of  heaven.  Rome  fell, 
and  Christians,  from  her  territory,  with  the  red  sword  of 
war,  carved  out  the  ruling  nations  of  the  world,  and  now 
21 


322      CONFLICT   'OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURV. 

Christ  sits  upon  the  old  throne.  Who  will  be  his  suc- 
cessor ?  "  Here  is  a  conglomeration  of  the  most  unjusti- 
fiable ignorance  and  misrepresentation.  Nothing  is  more 
positively  forbidden,  both  by  the  example  and  laws  of 
Christ,  than  the  use  of  the  sword,  even  for  the  defence  of 
himself  and  his  cause  ;  and  as  no  one  can  be  a  Christian 
and  disobey  either  source  of  the  instruction,  therefore, 
the  Christians  in  the  Roman  empire  never  did  this  work, 
whoever  else  did,  nor  does  Christ  sit  upon  the  world's 
throne,  the  erection  of  which  is  yet  future,  and  to  be 
built  upon  the  destruction  of  all  other  thrones,  at  his 
personal  return  in  the  end  of  the  world.  No  !  Christ 
ha.s  no  contemporary  sitting  upon  a  throne,  nor  is  his 
throne  ever  superseded. 

This  determination  is  one  of  the  principal  subjects  of 
prophecy,  and  Christ  grouped  the  events  to  trans] )ire  at 
the  erection  of  the  throne  and  commencement  of  his 
reign,  and  revealed  them  to  John,  thus:  "The  second 
woe  is  past ;  and,  behold,  the  third  woe  cometh  quickly. 
And  the  seventh  angel  sounded  ;  and  there  were  great 
voices  in  heaven,  saying.  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ ;  and 
he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.  And  the  four  and 
twenty  elders,  which  sat  before  God  on  their  seats,  fell 
upon  their  faces,  and  worshipped  God,  saying.  We  give 
thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God  Almighty,  which  art,  and  wast, 
and  art  to  come  ;  because  thou  hast  taken  to  thee  thy 
great  power,  and  hast  reigned.  And  the  nations  were 
angry,  and  thy  wrath  is  come,  and  the  time  of  the  dead, 
that  they  should  be  judged,  and  that  thou  shouldst  give 
reward  unto  thy  servants  the  prophets,  and  to  the  saints, 
and  them  that  fear  thy  name,  small  and  great ;  and 
shouldst  destroy  them  that  destroy  the  earth."  (Rev. 
II  :  14-18.) 

"  Then  Pilate  entered  into  the  judgment  I:all  again, 
and  called  Jesus,  and  said  unto  him,  Art  thou  the  King 
of  the  Jews  ?  Jesus  answered  him,  Sayest  thou  this  of 
thyself,  or  did  others  tell  it  of  me?  Pilate  answered, 
Am  I  a  Jew  ?  thine  own  nation  and  the  chief  priests  have 
delivered  thee  unto  me  ;  what  hast  thou  done  ?     Jesus 


METAPHYSICAL   PHILOSOPHY   OF   POWER.      323 

answered,  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  ;  if  my  king- 
dom were  of  this  world,  then  would  my  servants  fight, 
that  I  should  not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews  ;  but  now  is 
my  kingdom  not  from  hence.  [It  does  not  now  begin.] 
Pilate  therefore  said  unto  him.  Art  thou  a  king,  then  ? 
Jesus  answered.  Thou  say  est  that  I  am  a  king  ;  to  this 
end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  purpose  came  I  into  the 
world."  (John  18  :  33-37.)  Here  are  the  facts  taught 
that  Christ  was  born  to  be  a  king,  though  his  kingdom 
did  not  then  begin  ;  but  he  is  coming  again  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  whole  world,  which  becomes  his  kingdom 
without  successor  or  end.  The  universal  government 
shall  be  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  child  that  was  born, 
the  Son  that  was  given  :  "  His  name  shall  be  called  the 
Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting 
Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Of  his  government  there 
shall  be  no  end.  His  Kingdom  will  be  established  with 
judgment  and  justice  from  henceforth  [thenceforth]  even 
forever.  The  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  will  perform 
this."      (Isa.  9:6,  7.) 

When  Christ  was  on  earth  he  said,  "  Now  is  my  king- 
dom not  from  hence ;  ' '  but  when  this  prediction  shall 
have  its  fulfilment,  Christ  having  returned  and  having-^ 
assumed  the  government  and  kingdom  of  his  new-made 
world,  he  will  say,  ''  My  kingdom  is  from  henceforth  even 
forever. ' ' 

History  and  Philosophy  of  Suffering. 

The  scoffer  says  :  ''  We  are  informed  by  the  clergy 
that  this  world  is  a  kind  of  school ;  that  the  evils  by 
which  we  are  surrounded  are  for  the  purpose  of  develop- 
ing our  souls  ;  and  that  only  by  suffering  can  men  be- 
come pure,  strong,  virtuous,  and  grand."  There  is  a 
broad  and  well-defined  distinction  in  the  Scriptures  be- 
tween the  suffering  consequent  upon  physical  derange- 
ment, disease,  and  death,  and  that  which  men  suffer  at 
the  hand  of  persecution  for  allying  themselves  with  the 
cause  of  Christ.  Such  persecution  has  by  no  means  been 
confined  to  what  is  called  ''  the  Christian  era,"  but  has 


324     CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

been  the  common  lot  of  the  saints  beginning  with  Abel. 
As  proof  of  this  we  quote  the  following  :  *'  Take  my 
brethren  the  prophets,  who  have  spoken  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  for  an  example  of  suffering,  affliction,  and  pa- 
tience." (James  5  :  lo.)  "  Moses  refused  to  be  called 
the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  choosing  rather  to  suf- 
fer affliction  with  the  people  of  God  than  to  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  sin  for  a  season  ;  esteeming  the  reproach  of 
Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  in  Egypt ;  for  he 
had  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  the  reward."  (Heb. 
II  :  24-26.)  "  If  ye  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake,  happy 
are  ye  ;  and  be  not  afraid  of  their  terror,  neither  be 
troubled  ;  but  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of 
Christ's  sufferings  ;  that  when  his  glory  shall  be  revealed, 
ye  may  be  glad  with  exceeding  joy  ;  if  ye  be  reproached 
for  the  name  of  Christ,  happy  are  ye ;  for  the  spirit  of 
glory  and  of  God  resteth  upon  you  ;  on  their  part  he  is 
evil  spoken  of,  but  on  your  part  he  is  glorified.  But  let 
none  of  you  suffer  as  a  murderer,  or  a  thief,  or  an  evil 
doer  ;  yet,  if  any  man  suffer  as  a  Christian,  let  him  not 
be  ashamed,  but  let  him  glorify  God  on  this  behalf." 
(i  Pet.  2  :  20;   3  :  14;   4=  13) 

Christ  forewarned  his  followers  that  for  his  sake  they 
would  continue  to  suffer  throughout  all  ages  of  the  world. 
Hear  him  :  "Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for 
righteousness'  sake,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  persecute 
you,  and  shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you,  falsely, 
for  my  sake,  rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad ;  for  great  is 
your  reward  in  heaven,  for  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets 
which  were  before  you."  (Matt.  5  :  11-12.)  ''Behold, 
I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves,  be  ye 
therefore  wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves.  But  be- 
ware of  men,  for  they  will  deliver  you  up  to  the  councils, 
and  they  shall  scourge  you  in  their  synagogues,  and  ye 
shall  be  brought  before  governors  and  kings  for  my  name's 
sake,  for  a  testimony  against  them  and  the  Gentiles.  And 
the  brother  shall  deliver  up  the  brother  to  death,  and  the 
father  the  child,  and  the  children  shall  rise  up  against 
their  parents,  and  cause  them  to  be  put  to  death.     And 


METAPHYSICAL   PHILOSOPHY   OF   POWER.      325 

ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my  name's  sake,  but  he 
that  endureth  to  the  end  the  same  shall  be  saved.  The 
disciple  is  not  above  his  Lord.  If  they  have  called  the 
master  of  the  house  Beelzebub,  how  much  more  shall  they 
call  them  of  his  household  ?  Whosoever  therefore  shall 
confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  before  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven ;  but  whosoever  shall  deny  me 
before  men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father  which 
is  in  heaven." 

'^Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  earth :  I 
came  not  to  send  peace  but  a  sword,  for  I  am  come  to  set 
a  man  at  variance  against  his  father,  and  the  daughter 
against  her  mother,  and  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his 
own  household.  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more 
than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me,  and  he  that  loveth  son  or 
daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me,  and  he  that 
taketh  not  his  cross,  and  followeth  not  after  me,  is  not 
worthy  of  me.  He  that  findeth  his  life  [By  abandoning 
Christ  to  save  his  temporal  life.]  shall  lose  it,  and  he 
that  loseth  his  life  [Falls  a  martyr  for  his  sake.]  shall  find 
it.  And  that  shall  be  the  immortal  resurrection  Hfe." 
(Matthew  10.)  From  such  instruction,  it  seems  that  even 
Ingersoll  cannot  fail  to  see  that  the  kind  of  suffering  here 
taught,  and  which  develops  the  soul,  the  whole  man  into 
an  immortal  inhabitant  of  Christ's  new  world  and  endless 
kingdom,  is  to  be  reproached  for  being  so  much  like  him 
as  to  be  known  to  be  his  disciple,  which  those  cannot  have 
or  be  who  reproach  him,  and  choose  rather  to  reproach 
him  and  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season,  and  lose 
those  of  immortality  ;  of  course,  they  reap  the  harvest  of 
the  seed  they  sowed. 

Salvation  of  the  Little  Childre7t. 

Ingersoll  asks :  '^  Supposing  this  to  be  true,  what  is  to 
become  of  those  who  die  in  infancy  ?  The  little  children, 
according  to  this  philosophy,  can  never  be  developed. 
They  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  escape  the  ennobling  in- 
fluence of  pain  and  misery,  and  as  a  consequence  are 
doomed  to  eternal  mental  inferiority."     We  have  seen 


326      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

that  the  advantage  of  suffering  for  Christ's  sake  is,  that 
it  shows  the  sufferer  loves  him  and  is  identified  with  his 
cause,  and  this  the  Httle  children  cannot  have,  nor  do 
they  need,  as  Christ  pronounces  such  already  fit  for  the 
kingdom  ;  and  this  shows  IngersoU  to  be  ignorant  even  of 
the  theory  of  salvation,  and  when  adult  sinners  are  con- 
verted to  his  discipleship  they  are  then  exalted  to  the 
standard  of  the  little  child.  Said  he,  "  Suffer  the  little 
children  to  come  unto  me,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  and  except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as  a 
little  child,  ye  can  in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  This  objection  of  the  scoffer  shows  how  hard 
pressed  he  is  for  exceptional  matter  against  the  Bible  and 
its  religion,  and  secondly,  his  profound  ignorance  of  plain 
scripture  teaching.  That  he  is,  however,  satisfied  in  es- 
tablishing the  necessity  for  evil  to  do  the  work  of 
righteousness,  he  asks:  "If  evil  is  necessary  to  the  de- 
velopment of  man  in  this  life,  how  is  it  possible  for  the 
soul  to  improve  in  the  perfect  joy  of  paradise?  " 

The  absurdity  of  the  question  consists  in  supposing  that 
evil,  which  shows  what  good  is  by  contrast,  begets  the 
good.  As  though  darkness  begets  light — cold,  heat — 
death,  life.  In  a  word,  that  opposites  are  the  product  of  the 
same  conditions,  the  same  causes.  Not  understanding  the 
revealed  fact,  that  the  suffering  of  the  present  world,  of 
whatever  name,  nature,  or  degree,  is  the  result  of  sin,  and 
that  this  ends  with  the  present  sinful  world  and  with  all 
its  evil  consequences.  Absence  of  these  in  the  world  to 
come — i)aradise  restored,  proposes  infinite  and  endless 
facilities  for  intellectual  and  moral  development.  There 
are  angelic  teachers  with  six  thousand  years'  experience,  to 
begin  with,  and  the  close,  personal  association  with  the 
Immanuelized  God,  "In  whom  dwells  all  the  fulness  of 
the  Godhead  bodily."  Think  of  the  grandeur  of  such  a 
future,  and  of  the  limitless  attainments  even  of  the  little 
children.  Little,  only  when  first  entering  the  place,  and 
soon  growing  to  mature  physical  size,  and  then  with 
the  redeemed  millions  running  the  race  of  immortality 
together  with  their  Tord,  glorified  to  an  exaltation  of 
eternal   honor.     A    nature   so  attuned    to    that   of  their 


METAPHYSICAL   PHILOSOPHY   OF   POWER.      32/ 

Maker,  that  whatever  they  wish  to  do  will  be  lawful  to 
be  done — "  The  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God." 
This  is  the  proposition  and  promise  of  our  glorious  gos- 
pel, while  atheism  leaves  its  votaries  buried  in  the  ob- 
livion of  dark  annihilation :  such  a  man  dies  as  the  fool 
dieth. 

The  Scoffer' s  Closing  Harangue. 

This  brings  us  to  consider  the  last  passage  of  the  lec- 
ture. The  oracle  says  :  "  Day  by  day,  religious  con- 
victions grow  less  and  less  intense.  Day  by  day,  the  old 
spirit  dies  out  of  the  book  and  creed.  The  burning  en- 
thusiasm, the  quenchless  zeal  in  the  early  Church  have 
gone,  never  to  return.  The  ceremonies  remain,  but  the 
ancient  faith  is  fading  out  of  the  human  heart.  The  worn- 
out  arguments  fail  to  convince  ;  and  denunciations  that 
once  blanched  the  faces  of  a  race,  excite  in  us  only  de- 
rision and  disgust.  As  time  rolls  on,  the  miracles  grow 
mean  and  small,  and  the  evidences  our  fathers  thought 
conclusive  utterly  fail  to  satisfy  us.  There  is  an  irrepres- 
sible conflict  between  religion  and  science,  and  they  can- 
not peaceably  occupy  the  same  brain  and  the  same 
world."  It  is  unnecessary  here  to  say  that  there  is  no 
conflict  between  the  revealed  religion  of  the  Bible  and 
the  true  science  of  nature,  as  the  arguments  in  these  pages 
demonstrate,  and  this  disposes  of  the  strongest  weapon  in 
the  hand  of  atheism.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  conflict  exists, 
and  that  it  is  irrepressible,  but  the  idea  Ingersoll  bor- 
rowed from  Christ,  who  declared :  ''I  came  not  to  send 
peace  on  earth  but  a  sword. ' '  But  the  conflict  is  between 
truth  and  error,  light  and  darkness,  sin  and  righteousness, 
Christ  and  Belial ;  and  the  picture  drawn  by  the  pen 
of  inspiration,  and  sang  by  the  angels  of  Bethlehem,  is 
that  of  universal  and  endless  peace  on  earth,  but  it  is  the 
peace  which  results  from  the  existence  and  reign  of  uni- 
versal righteousness,  and  in  the  very  nature  of  the  two 
principles  could  not  be  otherwise.  The  elements  of  sin' 
are  war,  and  those  of  righteousness  peace ;  but  it  was  the 
new  earth  about  which  the  prophets  discoursed  and  the 
angels  sang;  it  was  the  earth  "brought  back  from  the 


328      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

sword,"  the  earth  with  the  curse  taken  off:  *^  Behold,  I 
create  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  ;  and  the  former  shall 
not  be  remembered,  nor  come  into  mind.  But  be  ye  glad 
and  rejoice  forever  in  that  which  I  create ;  for,  behold, 
I  create  Jerusalem  a  rejoicing,  and  her  people  a  joy.  And 
I  will  rejoice  in  Jerusalem,  and  joy  in  my  people  ;  and 
the  voice  of  weeping  shall  no  more  be  heard  in  her,  nor 
the  voice  of  crying.  The  wolf  and  the  lamb  shall  feed 
together,  they  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy 
mountain."     (Isa.  65th.) 

Mountain  in  prophecy  symbolizes  kingdom.  Here  is 
paradise  restored  to  what  it  was  when  God  first  made  it. 
^'  For  as  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  which  I  will 
make,  shall  remain  before  me,  saith  the  Lord,  so  shall 
your  seed  and  your  name  remain.  And  they  shall  go 
forth  and  look  upon  the  carcasses  of  the  men  that  have 
transgressed  against  me  ;  for  their  worm  shall  not  die, 
neither  shall  their  fire  be  quenched  ;  and  they  [the  car- 
casses] shall  be  an  abhorring  unto  all  flesh." 

They  have  had  their  resurrection  to  weakness,  dis- 
honor, corruption,  shame,  and  everlasting  contempt." 
The  fires  of  God's  execution  have  put  out  their  hfe,  and 
could  not  be  arrested  in  their  work  :  they  were  unquench- 
able fires,  and  no  power  could  arrest  the  work  of  decom- 
position upon  the  wicked.  The  carcasses  are  beheld  by 
the  immortal  righteous:  as  described  thus:  ''When 
the  wicked  are  cut  off,  thou  shalt  see  it."  (37th  Psalm.) 
*'A  thousand  shall  fall  at  thy  right  side,  and  ten  thou- 
sand at  thy  right  hand  ;  but  it  shall  not  oome  nigh  thee  : 
only  with  thine  eyes  shalt  thou  behold  and  see  the  end 
of  the  wicked."  (Ps.  91  :  8.)  ''  For  behold,  the  day 
cometh  that  shall  burn  as  an  oven  ;  and  all  the  proud, 
yea,  and  all  that  do  wickedly,  shall  be  stubble  :  and  the 
day  that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  that  it  shall  leave  them  neither  root  nor  branch. 
But  unto  you  that  fear  my  name  shall  the  Son  of  right- 
eousness arise  with  healing  in  his  wings ;  and  ye  shall  go 
forth,  and  grow  up  as  calves  of  the  stall.  And  ye  shall 
tread  down  the  wicked  ;  and  they  [their  carcasses]  shall  be 
ashes  under  the  soles  of  your  feet  in  the  day  that  I  shall 


METAPHYSICAL  PHILOSOPHY  OF  POWER.      329 

do  this,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  (MaL  4  :  1-3.)  ^'The 
wicked  shall  perish,  and  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
as  the  fat  of  lambs  :  they  shall  consume  away  into  smoke. 
Yet  a  little  while,  and  the  wicked  shall  not  be,  and  the 
earth  shall  not  be  [Both  are  consumed  into  their  elements 
by  the  fires  of  the  last  day.],  but  the  meek  shall  inherit 
the  earth."  [The  new  earth.]  "  Wait  on  the  Lord  and 
he  shall  exalt  thee  to  inherit  the  land."  "  Blessed  are  the 
meek,  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth."  (Matt.  5  :  5.) 
"  Fear  him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in 
hell."     (Matt.  10:   28.) 

If  in  his  search  Ingersoll  cannot  find  hell,  let  him  be 
a  little  patient  until  its  fires  are  kindled  at  the  last  day, 
as  we  here  see  is  the  time  appointed  for  the  work,  and  he 
will  surely  find  it  unless  he  repents:  ''For  behold,  the 
Lord  will  come  with  fire,  and  his  chariots  like  a  whirl- 
wind [And  his  chariots  are  thousands  of  angels.],  to  ren- 
der his  anger  with  fury,  and  his  rebuke  with  flames  of 
fire :  for  by  fire  and  by  his  sword  [His  executing  angels.] 
will  the  Lord  plead  with  all  flesh,  and  the  slain  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  many."     (Isa.  66th.) 

T/ie  Final  Doom  :  The  Galilean  has  Conquered. 

Christ  has  now  accomplished  his  revealed  purpose  upon 
his  enemies,  "  Who  would  not  that  he  should  reign  over 
them. ' '  The  devil  and  his  servants,  whether  of  angelic 
or  human  origin,  are  gathered  out  of  his  kingdom — the 
field — the  present  world,  and  are  cast  into  the  furnace 
of  fire' and  burned  to  destruction:  ''For  this  purpose 
the  Son  of  God  was  manifest  that  he  might  destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil."  (i  John  5  :  3.)  The  works  of  the 
devil  are  his  obedient  children,  the  children  of  the 
wicked  one,  the  tares  of  the  field.  "  Forasmuch  as  the 
children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  [Christ] 
himself  likewise  took  part  of  the  same;  that  through 
death  [His  resurrection  from  the  dead.]  he  might 
destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the 
devil  [The  devil  used  this  power  by  introducing  sin  into 
the  world,  and  death  came  in  consequence.],    and   de- 


330      CONFLICT  OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

liver  them  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  life- 
time subject  to  bondage."  (Heb.  2:  14,  15.)  When 
the  time  comes,  according  to  these  Scriptures,  appointed 
for  the  destruction,  and  a  devil  or  one  of  his  chil- 
dren is  left  alive,  then  the  Son  of  God  has  failed  of  his 
purpose;  none,  however,  but  men  like  Ingersoll  suppose 
such  a  thing  possible.  This  is  the  manner,  Mr.  Sceptic, 
in  which  the  irrepressible  conflict  between  you  and  Christ 
will  be  repressed.  Here  the  Prince  of  Peace  begins  his 
reign  of  righteousness,  never  to  be  interrupted  by  a  note 
of  discord,  or  a  seed  of  corruption.  Every  hostile  will 
to  the  reign  of  righteousness  are  no  more:  ''Behold  ! 
a  king  shall  reign  in  righteousness."  (Isa.  32  :  i.)  This 
has  now  commenced,  and  embraces  all  living,  re-created 
animals,  the  lower  as  well  as  man.  ''  The  wolf  also  shall 
dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with 
the  kid  ;  and  the  calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  fatling 
together  ;  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them.  The  cow  and 
the  bear  shall  feed;  their  young  ones  shall  lie  down  to- 
gether :  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox.  And 
the  suckling  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  a.sp,  and 
the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cockatrice 
den.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy 
mountain  [kingdom]  ;  for  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 
(Isa.  II  :  6-9.) 

''  And  the  work  of  righteousness  shall  be  peace  ;  and 
the  effect  of  righteousness,  quietness  and  assurance  for- 
ever. And  my  people  shall  dwell  in  a  peaceable  habita- 
tion, and  a  sure  dwelling,  and  in  quiet  resting  places." 
(Isa.  32:  17,  18.)  Here  the  prophetic  song  of  the 
angels,  ''Peace  on  earth,  good  will  toward  men,"  is  ful- 
filled. Christ  came  at  first,  not  to  send  peace  on  earth, 
but  a  sword.  But  he  has  now  come  the  second  time, 
and  established  a  universal  government  of  righteousness 
upon  earth,  the  effect  of  which  is  eternal  Peace.  It  is 
the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  covering  the  now 
])aradisiacal  earth,  "The  kingdoms  of  this  world  have 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  and 
he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 


METAPHYSICAL  PHILOSOPHY  OF  POWER.      33 1 


General  Unbelief  Reigns  when  the  World  Ends. 

In  our  opinion,  no  living  man  has  done  so  much  as 
Ingersoll  toward  bringing  about  the  unbehef  which  the 
Scriptures  declare  will  exist  at  Christ's  return  to  the 
world,  consequently  preparing  it  for  destruction.  But 
this  he  took  into  the  account  when  drawing  and  revealing 
the  picture  as  he  foresaw  it  would  be,  but  not  as  he  would 
have  it,  ''Who  would  have  every  man  to  be  saved." 
The  scoffer  predicts  that  the  old  zeal  is  dying  out  of  the 
church,  while  he  is  doing  all  in  his  power  to  fulfil  the 
prediction  by  the  use  of  the  arts  of  a  most  wily  magician, 
and  with  infinite  effrontery  calls  the  success  "progress," 
"improvement."  Instead,  however,  of  this  delaying  the 
end,  they  are  so  many  voices  of  alarming  apprehension  to 
these  willing  victims  of  the  deceptive  arts,  that  the  world 
is  fast  filling  up  the  cup  of  its  iniquity,  "  ripening  the  vine 
of  the  earth,"  for  the  work  of  the  reaping  angels  of 
destruction,  the  conflagration  of  the  last  day.  This 
general  unbelief  is  implied  in  the  question  Christ  asked 
thus,  "  Nevertheless,  when  the  Son  of  Man  cometh,  shall 
he  find  faith  on  earth."  (Luke  i8  :  8.)  Here  we  may 
remind  our  readers,  that  the  first  two  chapters  of  the 
Bible  record  reveal  the  history  of  the  creation  of  the 
temporary  world.  The  rest  of  the  Bible,  the  object  of 
that  creation  to  be  a  re-creation,  delineating  the  charac- 
ter of  its  contemplated  inhabitants,  the  requisite  quali- 
fications and  conditions  upon  which  it  may  be  obtained. 
The  last  two  chapters  record  the  prehistoric  revelation 
of  that  object  when  accomplished  ;  the  winding  up  scene 
of  which  is  as  follows:  "He  that  sat  upon  the  throne 
said,  I  am  the  first,  and  I  am  the  last,  I  am  he  that  liveth 
and  was  dead.  I  will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of 
the  fountain  of  living  water  freely  and  he  shall  inherit  all 
things,  and  I  will  be  his  God  and  he  shall  be  my  son." 
The  achievement  of  this  end  vindicates  and  justifies  the 
Creator  in  making  and  keeping  the  first  world  and  its 
inhabitants  in  existence  for  its  six  thousand  years.     The 


332      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

indefensible  blunder  of  the  freethinkers,  including  in  our 
day  every  grade  of  infidels,  is,  in  attempting  to  account 
for  the  condition  of  things  in  the  preliminary  temporal 
world,  without  taking  into  the  account  the  end  proposed, 
the  perfect,  re-created,  and  endless  world. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

HISTORY    OF    THE    DEBATE,    CHRISTIANITY    DEFENDED 
BEFORE    THE    FREETHINKERS'    CONVENTION. 

INTRODUCTION. 

[From  the  New  York  "  Herald."] 

^^Freethinkers'  Convention — Orthodoxy  to  be  Vindicated  at 
Rochester — Elaborate  Preparations  for  a  Notable  Gath- 
ering. 

"  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  August  3,  1883. 

^' There  is  every  prospect  and  promise  that  the  Free- 
thinkers' Convention,  to  be  held  at  the  Corinthian  Acad- 
emy of  Music  in  this  city,  on  August  29,  30,  31,  and 
September  i  and  2,  will  be  one  of  the  most  notable  gath- 
erings they  have  ever  held  in  this  country.  A  large  num- 
ber of  conspicuous  men  and  speakers  have  been  engaged, 
among  whom  are  Thaddeus  B.  Wakeman,  of  New  York ; 
Courtlandt  Palmer,  Z.  C.  Deland,  and  Samuel  P.  Putnam, 
of  New  York  City ;  the  ex-Rev.  George  C.  Miln,  C.  B. 
Waite,  Professor  John  Stolz,  and  E.  A.  Stevens,  of  Chica- 
go ;  Elizur  Wright,  George  Chainey,  William  S.  Bell, 
and  George  N.  Hill,  of  Boston,  Mass.  ;  Charles  Watts, 
editor  of  the  Secular  Review,  of  London,  England  ;  Mrs. 
Amelia  Colby,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  ;  Samuel  H.  Wixon,  of 
Fall  River,  Mass.  ;  Mrs.  H.  S.  Lake,  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.  ; 
J.  H.  Burnham,  of  Saginaw  City,  Mich.  ;  M.  Babcock, 
of  St.  Johns,  Mich.  ;  W.  F.  Jamieson,  of  Lake  City, 
Minn.  ;  Allen  Pringle,  of  Selby,  Can.  ;  C.  Frederick 
FarUn,  M.D.,  of  Binghamton,  N.  Y.  ;  J.  A.  Seitz,  of 
North  Conway ;  N.  H.  J.  Chapel,  of  Brighton,  N.  Y.  ;  Z. 
L.  Brown,  M.D.,  of  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 

Tffi  WD  PRESBYTEfllAM  MISSION  LIBRARY 


334      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

''It  is  confidently  expected  that  the  following  named 
will  also  be  present :  Colonel  Robert  G.  IngersoU,  Horace 
Seaver,  Professor  Felix  Adler,  B.  F.  Underwood,  and 
Professor  Van  Buren  Denslow. 

'^OrtJwdox  C/erg\';na/i  to  Speak/ 

''  The  leading  spirits  in  this  modern  movement  propose 
to  make  the  coming  convention  one  that  will  greatly  sur- 
pass in  interest  and  importance  all  their  other  conven- 
tions. For  a  number  of  years  the  secretary  has  publicly 
invited  the  orthodox  people  of  the  country  to  send  a 
representative  to  speak  in  behalf  of  Christianity  on  their 
platform,  but  no  one  has  ever  responded  to  the  invitation 
until  this  year.  The  acceptance  of  the  challenge  by  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Mitchell,  of  Brooklyn,  heretofore  announced 
in  the  Herald,  has  stirred  up  a  deep  interest  in  all  sec- 
tions. It  has  caused  much  comment  in  religious  circles 
in  this  city.  At  first  the  Christian  people  were  in  doubt 
as  to  Mr.  Mitchell's  ability  to  defend  orthodoxy,  but  the 
well-informed  ones  in  the  church  have  quieted  these 
doubts  by  asserting  that  he  is  one  of  the  best  theologians 
in  the  Methodist  denomination.  They  add  that  no  better 
man  could  be  chosen  in  the  United  States  to  meet  and 
put  to  flight  the  infidel  horde.  Thaddeus  B.  Wakeman, 
of  New  York,  well  known  as  a  lawyer  and  one  of  the 
ablest  men  in  the  ranks  of  the  freethinkers,  has  been 
chosen  to  reply  to  Mr.  Mitchell,  and  it  seems  likely  that 
the  conflict  between  two  such  men  will  be  watched  with 
considerable  interest,  both  by  the  Christian  and  infidel 
parties  all  over  the  country.  The  i)rospects  are,  too,  that 
during  the  discussion  many  of  the  ablest  men  of  the 
country,  of  all  shades  of  opinion,  will  be  i)resent. 

"  The  announcement  made  in  \\\q  Ilcra/d,  in  June,  that 
the  convention  will  be  hapjjy  to  meet  with  them  as  their 
guest  a  representative  of  the  orthodox  churches,  attracted 
wide  attention,  formed  the  subject  of  numberless  edi- 
torials throughout  the  country,  and  succeeded  in  arousing 
one  champion  for  the  cause  of  Christianity.  This  is  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Mitchell,  a  distinguished  Methodist  clergy- 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEBATE.  335 

man  and  author,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  His  letter  to  the 
secretary  of  the  Freethinkers'  Association  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  was  in  the  following  quaint  style : 

''I  accept  the  invitation  of  the  Freethinkers*  Associa- 
tion of  the  State  of  New  York,  to  make  an  address  before 
their  convention,  to  assemble  at  Rochester,  N.  Y. ,  on  Au- 
gust 29,  1883,  in  defence  of  the  Christian  religion,  as 
published  in  the  New  York  Herald  of  June  loth.  Please 
find  enclosed  papers,  which,  as  we  suppose,  meet  the  con- 
ditions of  your  invitation  in  recommending  me  to  appear 
and  make  the  proposed  address.  That  you  may  not  be 
confused,  permit  me  to  say  that  I  am  not  now  a  pastor  of 
a  church,  though  an  ordained  minister  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  having  devoted  my  time  for  a  number 
of  years,  almost  exclusively,  to  the  work  of  authorship. 
My  church  relation  is  in  Hanson  Place  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  having  a  membership  of  1,400,  and  of  which 
the  Rev.  J.  O.  Peck,  D.D.,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
ministers  in  the  denomination,  is  now  pastor. 

"  Dr.  Peck  gave  me  the  letter  of  recommendation  en- 
closed the  day  before  he  went  on  his  summer  vacation. 
Wishing  to  be  unobjectionable,  we  have  availed  ourselves 
of  the  clause  of  the  invitation  which  says:  'Or  either 
branch  of  the  orthodox  Church  of  the  United  States  may 
send  such  representative.'  Hence  we  applied  to  the  Pres- 
byterian branch,  and  send  you  the  enclosed  papers, 
signed  by  Samuel  D.  Burchard,  D.D.,  late  chancellor  of 
Ingraham  College,  New  York,  now  president  of  Rutgers 
College,  and  pastor  of  Murray  Hill  Church,  being  also 
moderator  of  the  Session. 

''  '  Dear  Sir:  I  need  not  say  to  you  that  I  wish  to 
have  it  decided  as  soon  as  possible  whether  I  am  to  be  the 
representative  to  your  Convention,  as  the  task  of  prepara- 
tion imposed  is  so  great,  and  which  suspense  increases.  I 
shall  be  relieved  of  the  latter  by  hearing  from  you  that  I 
am  accepted,  and  of  the  former  by  being  rejected. 
''  '  Yours  respectfully, 

'' '  Thomas  Mitchell, 

"  '  No.  248  Lafayette  Ave.,  Brooklyn.'  " 


33^     CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 


The  Champion's  Indorsers. 

This  letter  was  accompanied  by  the  following  indorse- 
ments : 

"  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  July  9,  1883. 

**This  will  certify  that  Rev.  Thomas  Mitchell,  of  this 
city,  is  personally  known  to  me,  and  that,  in  defence  of 
Christianity  as  against  materialism  and  free  religion  and 
modern  scepticism,  I  consider  him  candid,  able,  and 
fearless.  I  approve  of  his  meeting  the  challenge  of  the 
Freethinkers'  Association  to  meet  in  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

''J.   O.  Peck,  D.D., 

''  Pastor  Hanson  Place  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 

"New  York  City,  July  16,  1883. 

*'  To  the  President  of  the  Freethinkers'  Association  of  the, 
State  of  New  York. 
''  Dear  Sir  :  Being  acquainted  with  the  character  and 
ability  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Mitchell,  we  feel  })repared  to 
recommend  him  to  rei)resent  our  individual  church  and 
the  cause  of  evangelical  Christianity  in  your  Association, 
which  is  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Rochester,  August  29, 
1883. 

''S.     D    BURCHARD, 

''  Pastor  of  Murray  Hill  Presbyterian  Church,  New 
York  City,  and  Moderator  of  the  Session." 

To  these  communications  the  secretary  of  the  Associa- 
tion immediately  forwarded  the  following  reply  to  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Mitchell  : 

"  Salamanca,  N.  Y.,  July  18,  1883. 

*'  My  Dear  Sir  :  Yours  of  yesterday  received.  I  think 
you  have  substantially  complied  with  the  invitation  of 
the  New  York  State  Freethinkers'  Association  as  made 
through  the  Nezv  York  Herald,  and  we  shall  be  very 
much  i)leased  to  welcome  you  as  a  representative  of  evan- 
gelical Christianity  at  Rochester.     And  if  it  meets  your 


HISTORY    OF   THE   DEBATE.  337 

mind,  you  may  deliver  your  address  at  the  Academy  of 
Music,  at  which  our  convention  is  to  be  held,  on  Thurs- 
day evening,  August  30th.  The  headquarters  of  our 
convention  will  be  at  the  Clinton  House,  where  my  wife 
and  I  shall  put  up,  and  we  should  be  pleased  to  have  you 
stop  where  we  do.  Personally,  I  shall  do  all  in  my 
power  to  make  your  visit  with  us  pleasant. 
^'  Truly  yours, 

"  H.  L.   Green, 
'^  Secretary  Freethinkers'  Association." 

It  has  been  arranged  that  Mr.  Mitchell's  address  shall 
be  delivered  before  the  convention  on  Thursday  evening, 
August  30th.  The  Hon.  T.  B.  Wakeman,  of  New  York 
City,  will  reply  to  him  on  the  following  evening. 

The  Address. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Freethinkers'  Association  of 
THE  State  of  New  York  :  On  accepting  your  invitation 
to  make  an  address  "  defending  or  sustaining  the  claims  of 
the  Christian  rehgion  against  infidehty,  or  both,  as  the 
speaker  might  choose,"  I  cannot  but  avail  myself  of  the 
whole  extent  of  the  option,  not  only  because  it  is  liberal, 
but  because  the  defence  implies  the  attack  thus  broadly. 

It  cannot  be  intelligently  questioned  that  the  Bible 
sets  up  the  claim  that  the  words  clothing  the  ideas  de- 
scribing the  Christian  religion  are  of  divine  inspiration, 
and  which  are  not  to  be  changed  or  modified  to  the  end 
of  the  world.  Its  language  is  :  ''  All  scripture  is  given 
by  inspiration  of  God."  (2  Tim.  2  :  16.)  "  The  pro- 
phecy came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of  man  ;  but 
holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  (2  Pet.  i:  21.)  '' For  I  testify  unto  every  man 
that  heareth  the  words  of  the  .prophecy  of  this  book,  if 
any  man  shall  add  unto  these  things,  God  shall  add  unto 
him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book  ;  and  if  any 
man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of  the  book  of  this 
prophecy,  God  shall  take  away  his  part  out  of  the  book 
of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city."      (Rev.  22  :    18,  19.) 


33S      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

If,  therefore,  this  book  admits  of  no  change  of  phrase- 
ology, then  it  admits  of  no  change  of  meaning  ;  and  any 
attempted  change  for  improvement  is  positive  corruption. 
It  is  equally  unquestionable  that  the  Bible  claims  God 
created  the  word  according  to  the  account  given  in  Gene- 
sis, which  is  quoted  throughout  the  Scriptures  as  the  plain 
statement  of  the  facts  as  they  occurred,  the  two  most 
l)rominent  of  which  are  that  the  whole  work  was  done  in 
six  days  of  twenty-four  hours  each,  and  that  the  work  in 
all  its  parts  was  as  perfect  as  it  has  ever  been.  The  hy- 
pothesis of  evolution  is  the  exact  opposite  of  this  ;  hence 
there  is  an  irreconcilable  conflict  between  the  two.  We 
are  also  free  to  admit  that  science  cannot  prove  that  the 
world  came  into  existence  according  to  both  of  these 
claims  ;  therefore  all  true  science  must  be  on  one  side  or 
the  other,  and  the  question  is  on  which  side  ?  Here  is 
the  clearly  defined  issue,  and  we  take  the  Bible  side  of 
the  question — King  James's  version,  without  note,  com- 
ment, or  marginal  reading — asking  no  accommodating 
rule  of  interpretation  not  equally  necessary  to  the  lan- 
guage of  any  other  book. 

We  acknowledge  the  fact  of  the  spread  of  infidel  senti- 
ments in  our  day,  as  never  before  in  the  history  of  the 
world  ;  but,  as  we  conceive,  it  has  not  been  by  the  dis- 
covery of  new  defects  in  Christianity,  nor  by  really  new 
truths  in  science,  much  less  in  philosophy;  but  what  is 
called  "modern  science,"  which  we  shall  show  is  not 
science  has  been  the  chief  cause  of  the  evil.  Of  course, 
we  refer  to  its  ideas  about  the  geological  antiquity  of  the 
world,  and  its  evolution,  with  that  of  man,  from  a  sup- 
posed inherent  potency  in  organic  or  in  inorganic  matter, 
to  which  the  work  is  to  be  ascribed,  leaving  nothing  for 
a  supernatural  workman  to  do.  If  this  be  true  science, 
then  whether  there  is  a  living  God  or  not,  is  of  but  spec- 
ulative conse([ucnce  to  us.  If  God  did  not  make  the 
world  and  man,  he  is  not  their  pro])rietor,  and  he  has  no 
right  to  imj^ose  duties  and  restraints  ui)on  mankind  ;  and 
the  freethinkers  are  right  and  j^hilosophic  in  rejecting  the 
Bible  containing  them,  together  with  the  impositions  of 
the  Christian  religion.      But  if  we  show  by  the  resources 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEBATE.  339 

of  nature,  her  facts  of  science,  and  its  highest  type,  philo- 
sophical science,  that  she  has  no  such  potency,  and  is 
utterly  inadequate  to  the  performance  of  the  work,  then 
their  thinking  has  been  erroneous,  and  their  opposition 
to  the  creation  of  the  world  should  forever  cease. 

We  shall  not  only  show  this,  but  that  they  cannot  fall 
back  upon  atheism,  which  asserts  that  there  has  been  an 
endless  succession  of  living  generations  ;  for  even  their 
superficial  investigation  has  demonstrated  to  the  intelli- 
gent evolutionists  that  there  was  a  beginning  of  the  world 
and  of  its  inhabitants.  At  the  outset  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  know  the  formidability  or  feebleness  of  our  an- 
tagonist, whether  he  is  a  giant  or  a  pigmy.  Taking  into 
the  account  the  nature  of  the  proof  which  the  originators 
of  modern  science  have  adduced,  let  us  hear  their  own 
testimony  as  to  whether  they  themselves  claim  it  to  be 
science,  which  means  ''  certain  knowledge  or  understand- 
ing of  truth  by  the  mind."  It  is  admitted  by  the  four 
principal  authorities  on  evolution — Darwin,  Huxley, 
Tyndall,  and  Haeckel — that  if  it  does  not  account  for  the 
origin  of  organic  beings  and  things,  the  only  alternative 
is  the  Biblical  account  of  creation.  Another  admission 
granted  by  all  these  leaders  in  modern  science  is,  that  the 
claim,  the  primordial,  originated  by  inherent  forces  in 
nature  without  supernatural  interference,  is  a  pure  hypo- 
thesis ;  and  an  hypothesis  means,  "something  not 
proved,  but  imagined,  or  assumed  for  the  sake  of  ar- 
gument." Darwin  begins  his  argument  on  evolution 
with  the  assumed  existence  of  a  single  living  form — the 
primordial  of  all  living  forms,  and  which  was  the  simplest 
of  all  living  things.  In  contrast  to  this,  the  primordial 
of  Scripture  is  the  grandest  and  most  perfect  living  Being. 
That  the  Biblical  account  of  the  world's  primordial  is  the 
most  consistent  with  philosophy  and  the  facts  of  science, 
is  demonstrated  by  the  necessities  of  that  which  preceded 
the  evolution,  the  unfolding — namely,  the  work  of  infold- 
ing, putting  the  things  in  which  afterward  came  out,  or 
were  evolved.  It  is  simply  absurd  to  put  evolution  be- 
fore involution  ;  it  supposes  that  living  things  can  come 
out  from  whence  even  their  embryons  or  seeds  had  not 


340      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

been  put  in  ;  especially  when  the  embryon  of  an  animal 
or  plant  is  as  grand  a  piece  of  workmanship  as  the  animal 
or  plant  itself.  It  is  self-evident,  that  the  primordial,  if 
it  was  a  single  one,  from  which  every  species  of  animals 
and  plants  have  come  into  existence,  whether  it  was  that 
of  Darwin  or  of  Scripture,  had  the  knowledge  and  ability 
to  make  the  first  pair  of  each,  and  involve  in  them  the 
embryons  or  first  rudiments,  including  every  shade  of  dif- 
ference or  susceptibility  of  variation  which  have  or  ever 
will  manifest  themselves  in  the  evolution  of  all  subsecjuent 
generations.  This  demonstrates  the  fact  that  the  primor- 
dial involving  such  mechanical  and  physiological  skill 
was  the  very  paragon  of  a  complete  living  organism 
himself,  the  living  all-knowing — all-powerful  creator,  to 
whose  existence  every  living  thing,  points  and  ascribes 
its  own  origin.  If  it  was  Darwin's  primordial  from  which 
all  these  things  have  evolved,  then,  instead  of  its  having 
been  the  simplest,  it  must  have  been  the  grandest  em- 
bodiment of  living  being,  as  it  involved  the  embryons 
within  embryons  of  each  link  in  the  chain  of  being, 
losing  one  of  these  at  each  generation  ;  therefore  becom- 
ing simpler  and  simpler  until  man  was  evolved,  who,  hav- 
ing lost  all  his  embryons  of  different  species,  was  the  very 
simplest  of  all  living  things  !  This  argument  completely 
reverses  evolution,  and  shows  that  its  primordial,  instead 
of  being  the  simplest,  had  the  same  involved  ability  as 
the  Bible  gives  the  living  God  of  creation.  Hence  philo- 
sophical science  and  the  well-known  facts  of  physiologi- 
cal relation  between  jjarentage  and  organic  transmission, 
prove  the  living  God  of  Genesis  to  have  been  the  primor- 
dial of  the  life  of  the  world. 

What  science  demanded  of  Darwin  before  he  proceeded 
another  step  in  his  hypothesis  of  evolution,  was  to  show 
how  lifeless  nature  was  capable  of  performing  the  i)rior 
involution  at  least  of  embryonic  rudimental  life  within 
the  structure  of  the  ])rimordial  ;  and  this  implies  the  ab- 
surdity of  a  thing  communicating  life,  or  the  seed  of  life, 
before  it  lived  itself — of  organic  nature  acting  before  she 
was  born  ;  and  certainly  this  would  have  been  a  miracle. 
Had  he  done  this,  we  should  have  been  obliged  to  bow 


HISTORY   OF   THE  DEBATE.  34 1 

with  reverence  before  the  demonstration — having  ceased 
to  be  an  hypothesis — because  it  would  have  presented  us 
with  the  work  which  science  shows  must  have  been  per- 
formed in  the  origination  of  nature.  The  conditions 
upon  which  the  first  hving  things  were  brought  into  ex- 
istence demanded  work  of  which  nature  was  incapable, 
hence  superior,  supernatural  work  ;  for  a  miracle  is  simply 
a  work  of  which  nature  is  incapable.  Though  Darwin 
had  not  descended  far  enough  from  his  quadruman  ances- 
tors to  comprehend  the  philosophic  and  scientific  neces- 
sity in  nature  for  the  work  of  a  creator,  he  did  descend 
far  enough  to  see  that  evolution  was  only  an  hypothesis. 
In  his  Belfast  speech,  Professor  Tyndall  asked  :  ' '  Whence 
came  the  primordial  of  Mr.  Darwin  ?  "  and  declared  that 
he  ''saw  the  potency  of  hfe  in  those  material  atoms 
which  we  cover  with  opprobrium."  But  if  he  did  see 
the  primordial  thus  coming  into  life,  his  vision  was  so  dis- 
torted that  he  has  failed  to  give  us  the  facts  or  to  describe 
the  process,  so  that  others  might  behold  the  marvellous 
phenomenon.  In  his  later  published  ''  Fragments  of 
Science  "  he  says  :  ''  Having  adopted  the  nebula  theory, 
I  am  bound  to  show  that  living  things  originated  with- 
out the  existence  of  antecedent  life  ;  but  all  observation 
in  proof  of  this  has  failed,  and  all  experiment  in  its  de- 
fence has  utterly  broken  down."  According  to  this  tes- 
timony, there  is  no  proof  that  evolution  ever  had  a  be- 
ginning, and  that  which  never  began  cannot  continue ; 
therefore  this  modern  sceptical  science  has  no  existence, 
not  even  an  hypothetical  one.  Professor  Huxley  corrob- 
orates these  testimonies.  In  his  '' American  Lectures," 
delivered  in  New  York  and  reported  in  the  New  York 
Tribune  Extra,  he  said  :  '■'■  Man  came  into  existence 
originally  either  according  to  the  account  in  Genesis,  or 
upon  the  hypothesis  of  evolution,"  and  left  it  where  he 
found  it,  a  mere  hypothesis.  Since  then  Professor  Hux- 
ley has  pubHcly  abandoned  the  godless  myth  of  evolution, 
as  being  unable  to  account  for  the  origin  of  the  world's 
inhabitants.  Professor  Haeckel,  in  his  ''History  of 
Creation,"  says:  "Though  spontaneous  generation  is  a 
pure  hypothesis,  never  having  been  observed  or  proved 


342      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

by  experiment,  yet  it  is  essential  to  the  non-miraculous 
origin  of  living  things  ;  and  the  evolutionists  [Of  whom 
he  is  one  *of  the  most  intelligent  and  devoted.]  must  ac- 
cept spontaneous  generation,  or  the  creation  of  living 
things."  Thus  evolution,  according  to  its  own  showing, 
is  unsustained  by  evidence.  It  is  therefore  a  pigmy,  and 
not  a  giant  ! 

It  is  evident  that  that  which  gives  vivacity  to  this  con- 
troversy is  the  existence  of  a  personal  God.  The  scep- 
tics say,  ''  We  will  agree  with  you,  if  you  will  give  up 
the  claim  to  the  existence  of  a  personal  God,  of  a  per- 
sonal Christ,  and  call  it  the  Godly,  the  Christly  principle. 
This  is  beautifully  modest,  when  all  the  evidence  is  on 
our  side  ;  while  they  have  nothing  but  hypothesis  to  be- 
gin with,  inferences  as  continuity  and  irrationality  to 
end  with,  not  one  of  their  propositions  being  established 
by  philosophical  science  ;  while  all  the  real  facts  and 
well-known  principles  of  natural  science  prove  that  evo- 
lution, according  to  natural  selection,  never  had  a  start- 
ing-point ;  and  surely  that  which  never  started  could  not 
continue  nor  exist.  The  sceptics  know  full  well  that 
nothing  but  a  personal  being  can  issue  laws  to  restrain 
their  conduct  and  execute  their  penalty.  They  equally 
know  that  these  penalties  are  not  executed  in  the  present 
life ;  as  they  violate  the  laws  with  impunity,  their  course 
evinces  a  conviction  and  apprehension  of  fu/i/re  punish- 
?nent,  and  act  as  though  they  supposed  that  if  they  did 
not  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  personal  God,  why  then 
there  would  be  none.  All  the  facts  of  observation  show 
that  persons  only  can  deviate  from  one  source,  and  pur- 
sue another ;  that  persons  only  originate  things,  form 
purposes,  and  carry  them  into  execution,  that  persons 
only  have  the  conviction  of  moral  responsibility,  and  the 
conception  of  the  existence  of  persons  or  a  person  higher 
in  the  scale  of  being  than  themselves ;  the  exceptioiis 
being  those  who  in  their  pride  have  so  distorted  their 
moral  sensibilities,  and  perverted  their  reasoning  faculties, 
that  they  can  honestly  believe  or  accept  the  foolish  no- 
tion that  there  is  no  personal  God,  and  nothing  in  the 
universe  higher  or  greater  than  themselves  !     It   is  no 


HISTORY.  OF  THE   DEBATE.  343 

wonder  that  such  minds  are  capable  of  accepting  any  ab- 
surdity, as  the  supposition  that  the  Christian  rehgion  is 
an  abstract  principle — ''  the  God,  the  Christ  principle." 

What  folly  to  suppose  the  Christian  religion,  which  im- 
poses laws,  and  enforces  duties,  offers  rewards,  threatens 
punishment,  and  demands  worship  which  can  only  be 
paid  by  the  recognition  of  a  superior  Being,  having  the 
right  to  make  the  laws  and  to  demand  obedience  to  them, 
could  exist  without  having  originated  in  the  mind  of  a 
personal  God — a  personal  Christ !  As  well  suppose  a 
moral  law  without  a  moral  lawgiver,  a  religious  principle 
imposed  without  a  Being  to  impose  it !  In  a  word.  God- 
liness [Godlikeness]  Christliness,  without  a  God — without 
a  Christ,  the  characteristics  without  the  character  !  As 
well  talk  about  the  laws  of  Lycurgus  without  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Grecian  lawgiver ;  the  code  of  Justinian  if 
the  Roman  emperor  had  never  existed ;  or  of  the  New- 
tonian system  of  astronomical  science,  had  Sir  Isaac  never 
been  born.  The  evolutionists  having  proved  nothing,  we 
might  here  claim  a  verdict  against  modern  science,  and  in 
favor  of  the  Scripture  account  of  the  origin  of  the  world  ; 
but  we  propose  to  vindicate  the  statements  of  Genesis  by 
the  well-known  facts  of  natural  science,  both  as  to  the 
manner  of  its  construction  and  the  time  consumed  in  the 
origin  of  the  world  and  its  Hving  inhabitants.  The  neb- 
ula theory  of  Laplace  (and  its  name  admits  it  to  be  a 
mere  hypothesis)  may  be  considered  the  foundation  of  an- 
imal and  plant  evolution,  as  well  as  that  of  the  inorganic 
world,  even  of  the  solar  system  ;  for  if  from  this  sup- 
posed form  of  matter,  as  the  theory  goes,  the  stars,  as 
centres  of  revolving  systems,  formed  themselves  from  this 
matter,  it  would  be  reasonable  to  conclude  that  their  liv- 
ing inhabitants  followed  the  same  course  of  coming  into 
existence ;  and  had  he  demonstrated  the  hypothesis,  it 
would  have  settled  the  question  ;  but  if  he  failed,  and  did 
not  even  make  the  attempt,  then  what  right  has  any  man 
to  dignify  it  by  the  name  of  science,  and  how  much  less 
to  adopt  and  build  specious  theories  such  as  evolution 
upon  it  ? 

Humboldt  talks  about  creation,  but  nothing  is  more 


344      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

apparent  from  his  writings  than  that  he  attaches  no  other 
idea  to  the  word  than  nature.  He  says  :  "  Among  the 
many  wonderful  things  discovered  by  science  and  art,  by 
the  aid  of  powerful  instruments  scanning  the  regions  of 
space,  we  see  the  remote  nebulous  mass  resolving  itself 
into  worlds  of  stars."  It  is  held  by  this  scientist  that  the 
stars  thus  formed  are  suns,  each  having  a  planetary  sys- 
tem like  that  of  our  own.  Of  course,  if  the  nebulous 
mass  resolves  itself  into  stars,  it  leaves  no  work  for  the 
creator  to  do  in  forming  suns,  and  therefore  in  bringing 
our  sun  and  solar  system  into  existence  ;  consequently, 
man  is  under  no  responsibility  to  him,  even  if  there  be 
such  a  being,  and  he  may  pay  his  devotions  to  his  god 
''Nebula"  with  impunity.  The  nebula  theory  is  the 
strongest  expression  of  sceptical  materialism,  and  for 
which  Humboldt  virtually  acknowledges  its  author  has 
given  no  evidence.  He  says  :  ''  Laplace  has  combined 
the  results  of  the  highest  astronomical  and  mathematical 
bodies,  and  has  presented  them  to  his  readers /;r<^_/>w;/  all 
processes  of  demonst?'atioji.  The  structure  of  the  heavens 
is  here  reduced  to  the  simple  solution  of  a  great  problem 
in  mechanics  ;  and  yet  his  work  has  never  been  accused 
of  incompleteness  and  want  of  profundity."  Yes,  in- 
deed, a  very  simple  process  ;  for  is  it  not  childish  simplic- 
ity to  suppose  that  nebula — white  cloudy  vapor — should 
commence  to  work  and  resolve  itself  into  suns  and  sys- 
tems of  worlds  replete  with  vegetable  and  animal  life  ? 
If  it  is  a  tax  upon  human  intellect  to  admit  this  work  to 
have  been  that  of  a  living  person,  how  infinitely  greater 
is  the  tax  upon  human  credulity  to  believe  that  a  quan- 
tity of  diffuse,  lifeless  vapor  did  the  mighty  work.  If  it  is 
credulous  bigotry  to  beljeve  that  this  work  was  achieved 
by  a  person  possessed  of  the  wisdom  and  power  it  de- 
manded, how  infinitely  greater  the  faith  which  believes 
that  the  white  vapor  ofsi)ace  commenced  of  itself  and 
made  all  the  suns  and  their  planetary  systems  !  How  such 
a  faith  should  put  the  unbelief  of  church  members  to  the 
blush  !  If  it  is  a  reflection  upon  men  for  believing  the 
origin  of  things  to  have  been  miraculous,  how  much 
more  severe  do  those  merit  it,  who  believe  the  greater 


HISTORY    OF   THE   DEBATE.  345 

miracle,  that  lifeless  cloudy  vapor,  or  any  other  form  of 
inorganic  matter,  achieved  the  mighty  work  ! 

Sceptics  also  say.  We  do  not  know  where  this  God  is, 
nor  whence  his  origin.  Well,  do  they  know  where  or 
from  whence  is  the  power  that  brought  them  into  exist- 
ence, whatever  it  was  ?  What  we  know  is  the  fact  that 
we  exist,  and  that  nature  had  no  power  to  cause  our  ex- 
istence. Hence,  correlatively,  and  of  philosophic  and 
scientific  necessity,  we  know  that  there  exists  a  being  of 
wisdom  and  power  equal  to  the  task  of  our  creation. 
This  is  what  we  know.  Now,  if  we  do  not  know  where 
this  Being  resides  at  present,  or  whence  his  origin,  and 
have  never  seen  him,  does  such  ignorance  destroy  what 
we  do  know  ?  We  know  that  the  sun  produces  light  and 
heat  upon  our  planet.  If  we  do  not  know  how  the  sun 
came  into  existence,  nor  the  origin  of  its  light,  nor  the 
mechanical  and  chemical  principles  involved  in  its  pro- 
duction, does  such  ignorance  destroy  our  knowledge  that 
the  sun  exists,  and  that  the  light  is  its  effect  ?  We  know 
that  we  had  a  father  and  a  mother,  because  we  have  seen 
them,  and  for  other  reasons.  But  suppose  you  had  not 
seen  your  grandparents,  would  you  not  know  you  had 
them  also,  and  be  equally  positive  that  every  generation 
before  them  had  parents  ?  and,  by  analogous  reasoning, 
do  you  not  know  that  your  ancestors  run  back  to  a  sin- 
gle man  and  woman  ?  and  that  these,  being  the  first, 
could  have  had  no  parents  ;  for  if  they  did  have  them, 
they  could  not  have  been  the  first,  who,  therefore,  must 
have  been  the  work  of  creation.  You  know,  also,  that 
dead  parents  produce  no  children,  and  therefore  that  the 
first  pair — and  there  must  have  been  a  pair,  male  and 
female — were  alive  before  the  second  generation  was 
born. 

You  know  by  the  physiological  science  of  life  that  the 
possession  of  vital  organs  is  essential  to  life  —  lungs, 
heart,  stomach,  spinal  column,  anterior  brain,  etc.  In  a 
word,  the  involvement  in  a  single  body  of  all  the  parts, 
the  removal  of  any  one  of  which  would  prevent  the  con- 
tinuance of  life,  and  as  certainly  its  commencement. 
This  establishes  the  fact  that  all  your  ancestors,  including 


346      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

the  first,  possessed  all  these  parts,  the  combination  of 
which  is  life  ;  and  the  first  pair  must  have  had  them  all, 
as  any  succeeding  generation,  and  each  performing  its 
function  as  an  integral  part  of  the  life.  Again,  as  nature 
always  acts  uniformly  [and  not  to  act  thus  she  would 
work  miracles],  and  does  not  now  produce  living  things 
and  beings  from  lifeless  matter,  nor  children  v.  ithout  par- 
ents, while  she  is  in  her  maturity  and  not  in  a  nascent 
state — as  she  is  claimed  to  have  been  in  when  these  things 
began — therefore  nature  had  no  power  to  bring  the  first 
pair  into  existence  without  parents  ;  and  that,  just  as 
certainly  as  the  second  generation  of  men,  or  of  any  liv- 
ing thing,  required  parents  in  order  to  their  existence,  so 
certainly  did  the  first  pair  require  a  living  being  to  bring 
them  into  existence  ;  and  the  process  must  have  been  so 
short  that  the  parts  made  first  would  not  have  decom- 
posed until  the  last  were  finished  ;  and  this  would  not 
have  admitted  more  than  a  single  day  to  have  com- 
menced its  ravages.  The  work  was  therefore  done  in 
exact  accordance  with  the  account  given  in  Genesis,  and 
physiological  science  shows  it  could  not  have  been  done 
by  the  false  science  of  evolution.  This,  then,  is  what  we 
know  by  logical  reasoning  ui)on  the  facts  and  processes 
of  nature  ;  from  which  it  follows  that  that  account  is 
demonstrated  to  be  the  exact  truth,  both  as  to  the  man- 
ner and  time  it  consumed. 

What  kind  of  reasoning  or  thinking  is  that  which  de- 
nies we  know  anything  concerning  a  fact  of  existence, 
because  we  do  not  know  everything  about  it?  Or,  what 
is  ecjually  absurd,  for  a  man  to  reject  all  phenomena  the 
origin  of  which  he  cannot  comprehend,  when,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  he  cannot  explain  the  mechanical  principles 
involved  in  the  motions  of  his  finger  ?  And  yet  we  hear 
one  great  scientist  [Humboldt]  complimenting  another 
[Laplace],  because  he  has  not  deigned  to  i)rove  his  scien- 
tific opinions  !  Praising  him  because  he  has  not  demon- 
strated them,  and  falling  in  love  with  the  scientific  world 
for  not  calling  in  question  their  completeness  and  pro- 
fundity !  Think  of  it,  undemonstrated  profundity ! 
These  are  the  men  who  stand  at  the  head  of  the  school  of 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEBATE.  34/ 

modern  scientists,  the  one  the  author  of  the  nebula 
theory,  and  the  other,  one  of  its  ablest  defenders,  ac- 
knowledging that  Laplace,  its  author,  gave  no  evidence  in 
its  defence.  Let  it,  then,  be  remembered  that  all  the 
inferences  and  conclusions  of  the  evolutions  drawn  from 
the  nebula  theory  are  without  force,  philosophy,  science, 
or  fact ;  therefore  the  structure  of  evolution  built  upon 
such  a  foundation  is  nothing  but  a  fanciful  myth,  without 
the  least  claim  to  truth,  or  to  be  honored  by  the  name  of 
science.  Then  comes  Professor  Proctor,  with  his  fiery 
astronomy,  wholly  founded  upon  the  nebula  theory, 
which  of  course  has  no  more  scientific  existence  than  its 
imaginary  foundation.  The  Professor  says  :  ''It  has 
been  found  that  the  sun  and  the  whole  solar  system — the 
earth,  moon,  and  planets — are  moving  in  one  direction  ; 
and  this  uniformity  of  movement  would  seem  to  indicate 
a  community  of  origin  ;  that  at  the  same  time  the  same 
influence  was  at  work  to  set  it  in  motion  in  the  same  di- 
rection. It  is  at  this  point,  when  we  look  into  the 
heavens  for  the  solution  of  the  mystery,  that  we  come 
upon  the  nebula  hypothesis.  This  supposes  [mark  it, 
supposes — not  proves]  that  the  bodies  composing  the 
solar  system  once  existed  in  the  form  of  nebula;  that  this 
had  a  revolution  on  its  own  axis  from  west  to  east :  that 
by  the  effect  of  gravity,  the  matter  composing  the  nebula 
gradually  became  condensed  toward  the  centre ;  that  the 
exterior  thus  had  the  velocity  of  their  revolutions  in- 
creased until,  by  centrifugal  force,  they  were  separated 
from  the  mass,  and  left  behind  in  the  form  of  a  ring ; 
that  thus  the  material  of  each  of  the  planets  was  separated, 
while  the  main  body  was  condensed,  forming  the  sun  ; 
and  finally  that  each  of  the  planetary  rings,  by  a  similar 
process,  deposited  other  rings,  ^  of  which,  by  condensa- 
tion, its  secondaries,  or  satellites,  were  formed." 

In  one  of  his  American  lectures,  delivered  in  New 
York,  in  giving  some  of  his  incomprehensible  periods  for 
the  cooling  of  the  earth's  crust,  so  as  to  make  it  a  suitable 
habitation  for  living  beings,  the  professor  said  :  "  But 
back  of  all  this  lay  the  time  occupied  in  the  gradual  cool- 
ing of  the  earth's  crust,  when  the  earth  was  a  fiery  mol- 


348      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

ten  mass,  whirling  through  space,  a  mass  many  times 
larger  than  it  is  now.  As  to  the  duration  of  this  period, 
when  the  crust  was  slowly  forming,  it  was  very  much 
longer  than  the  subsequent  one.  According  to  Bischoft''s 
calculation,  the  time  occupied  in  the  formation  of  the 
earth's  crust  could  not  have  been  less  than  350,000,000 
years ;  and  this,  the  professor  thought,  erred  rather  on 
the  side  of  deficiency  than  excess.  But  this  did  not 
fully  measure  the  time  since  the  earth  began ;  for  back  of 
the  molten  condition  there  lay  another  period,  the  va- 
porous stage,  when  the  whole  solar  system  was  a  mass  of 
nebula  vapor.  This  could  only  be  obtained  by  approxi- 
mation, and  perhaps  a  period  of  500,000,000,000  years 
may  be  assigned  as  the  duration  of  the  time.  Adding 
these  figures  together,  it  gave  the  age  of  the  world.  How 
can  such  baseless  speculation  lay  claim  even  to  a  respect- 
able supposition  ?  It  must  be  remembered  that  these  cal- 
culations are  all  based  on  the  supposition  of  the  existence 
of  the  nebula  supposition  of  Laplace,  and  for  which  there 
is  absolutely  no  evidence  ;  hence  the  whole  scheme  is  an 
atheistic  fabrication  of  greater  marvellous  credulity,  than 
to  believe  all  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  Bible,  the  ref- 
utation of  which  admits  of  no  argument,  since  nothing  is 
proved.  We  have  however  shown,  in  our  published 
"  Cosmogony,"  that  the  nebula  in  none  of  its  stated 
forms  could  burn  ;  that  a  fiery  mass  has  no  gravity, 
electrical  or  chemical  attraction  ;  without  which  forma- 
tion is  impossible  ;  and  that  destruction,  not  formation, 
is  the  result  of  conflagration.  We  shall,  however,  in  the 
sequel  of  the  scientific  part  of  our  address,  expose  its  ab- 
surdities by  a  number  of  syllogisms  ;  and  if  the  nebulous 
fiery  mass  never  existed,  then  it  never  cooled,  and  the 
periods  of  the  cooling  are  the  children  of  their  parent 
myth.  If  the  house  never  burned  down,  it  consumed  no 
time  in  the  process.  In  the  same  work  we  have  also  ex- 
amined what  purport  to  be  facts  in  Sir  Charles  Lyell's 
*'  Principles  of  Geology,"  giving  the  world  a  greater  age 
than  the  Bible  record  admits,  as  well  as  the  same  preten- 
tious things  found  in  other  geological  works  ;  and  we  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  not  a  fact  of  fossilization  or  of 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEBATE.  349 

formation  has  been  discovered  which  demonstrates  the 
world  to  be  even  six  thousand  years  old,  or  as  old  as 
Biblical  chronology  makes  it. 

We  return  to  Professor  Huxley's  American  lecture  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  still  further  that  the  origin  of  ani- 
mal life  necessitated  a  creation  just  such  as  Genesis  reveals. 
He  says:  "  The  hypothesis  of  evolution  [here  it  is  ad- 
mitted that  evolution  is  mere  hypothesis,  supposition]  that 
in  any  given  time  in  the  past  we  should  meet  with  a  state 
of  things  more  or  less  similar  to  the  present,  but  less  in 
proportion  as  we  go  back  in  time.  That  the  physical 
form  of  the  earth  could  be  traced  back  in  this  way  to  a 
condition  of  things  in  which  its  parts  were  separated  as 
little  more  than  a  nebulous  cloud,  making  part  of  a  whole 
in  which  we  find  the  sun  and  other  planetary  bodies  re- 
solved [He  finds  this  nebulous  condition  of  things  just  as 
Laplace  found  it — that  is,  he  found  no  such  thing,  nei- 
ther by  observation  nor  calculation.].  And  at  no  point  of 
the  continuity  could  we  say,  this  is  a  natural  process, 
and  this  is  not  a  natural  process  ;  but  that  the  whole 
might  be  strictly  compared  to  that  wonderful  series  of 
changes  which  may  be  seen  going  on  under  our  eye,  in 
virtue  of  which  there  arises,  out  of  that  semi-fluid  homo- 
geneous substance  we  call  an  egg,  the  complicated  organ- 
ization of  one  of  the  higher  animals.  That,  in  a  few 
words,  is  what  is  meant  by  the  hypothesis  of  evolution." 
[Hypothesis  and  nebula  express  the  two  corner-stones  of 
evolution.]  ''  The  universe  has  come  into  existence 
somehow,  and  the  question  is  whether  it  came  into  exist- 
ence in  one  fashion  or  another,"  says  the  professor.  In 
the  hen  and  egg  illustration,  is  the  conclusion  true  that 
''  at  no  point  in  relation  to  the  manner  in  which  the  uni- 
verse and  its  inhabitants  came  into  existence,  from  the 
nebula  to  the  hen,  can  we  say,  this  is  a  natural  process, 
and  this  is  not."  We  answer,  it  is  not  true.  It  makes 
no  difference  as  to  the  nature  of  the  work,  whether  it  was 
a  hen,  egg,  plant,  or  man,  which  was  the  first  living  thing. 
In  the  example  of  the  egg,  what  are  the  facts  and  their 
correlation  ? 

I.     An  egg  exists. 


3  so      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

2.  By  subjection  to  a  certain  temperature,  a  chicken 
is  hatched  from  it. 

3.  The  hen  is  possessed  of  a  voluntary  and  an  invol- 
untary department  of  machinery.  The  first  enables  her 
to  go  in  quest  of  food,  and  to  eat  it  when  found.  The 
second  takes  the  food  and  from  it  manufactures  the  egg. 

4.  If  the  egg  had  a  father  and  mother,  it  might  evolve 
a  chicken.  If  it  had  no  father  and  mother  it  could  not 
evolve  a  chicken  ;  therefore  all  eggs  in  the  process  of  evo- 
lution had  a  father  and  mother.  And  also,  if  the  egg 
had  an  air-space  containing  air  for  the  chicken  to  breathe 
after  it  began  to  live,  and  until  it  gathered  strength 
enough  to  break  the  shell  of  its  confinement,  then  it 
could  hatch  a  chicken  ;  but  if  it  was  full  of  meat,  leaving 
no  such  .space,  then  it  could  not  hatch  a  chicken. 

5.  The  egg  had  in  it  the  rudiments  of  every  vital 
organ  and  every  feature  of  the  hen  that  laid  it,  and  its 
products  would  be  identical  with  its  parents'. 

6.  If  nature,  in  violation  of  this  uniformity,  should 
make  an  egg  without  an  egg  or  hen,  which  w^ould  pro- 
duce and  reproduce  chickens,  hens,  and  eggs  persistently, 
^/la/  would  be  a  miracle  ;  and  according  to  evolution  she 
did  this  very  thing  in  making  the  first  egg  before  a  hen 
existed.  And  if  the  hen  was  first,  then  she  made  the  liv- 
ing hen  and  evolved  in  her  a  chemical  laboratory  and  me- 
chanical apparatus  capable  of  making  the  egg.  Hence  nat- 
ure wrought  a  most  stupendous  miracle  in  bringing  the  first 
living  thing  into  existence.  But  she  has  never  repeated 
that  act ;  she  only  evolves  subsequent  generations,  which 
is  simply  the  unrollment  of  the  one  original  miracle  of 
involving  all  in  the  first ;  and  which  makes  the  whole, 
from  first  to  last,  the  one  grand  miracle  of  God,  mani- 
fested in  the  phenomena  of  nature,  and  of  which  nature 
is  utterly  incapable.  Surely,  in  view  of  this  the  honest 
sceptic  will  not  object  to  our  ascribing  the  miraculous 
work  to  a  living  being,  when  he  .sees  that  if  his  god 
'■'■  Nature"  did  it,  it  was  the  same  miraculous  work,  the 
unrollment  of  which  comes  under  observation  in  every 
thing  that  is  born.  Each  species  of  animals  and  plants, 
with  all  their  generations,  being   these  miraculous  ma- 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEBATE.  35 1 

chines,  which  for  six  thousand  years  have  worked  so  per- 
fectly that  a  second  interference  on  the  part  of  the  great 
Engineer  of  nature  has  been  entirely  unnecessary.  Here 
we  see  Huxley's  narrow  conception  of  the  subject  which 
he  attempts  to  handle,  concluding  that  the  process  of 
bringing  the  first  egg  or  hen  into  existence,  was  so  like 
that  which  brings  every  succeeding  egg  or  hen  into  exist- 
ence that  we  cannot  say,  "  this  is  a  natural  process,  and 
this  is  not  a  natural  process. ' ' 

7.  The  process  of  bringing  one  egg  into  existence  re- 
quires about  one  day,  and  that  of  hatching  a  chicken 
from  it  less  than  one  month.  Expose  an  egg  to  the 
necessary  temperature,  and  it  will  either  hatch  or  decom- 
pose in  less  than  one  month.  Therefore,  the  process  of 
bringing  the  first  chicken  from  the  first  egg  could  not 
have  been  longer  than  a  single  month  ;  and  if  the  egg 
was  formed  first,  no  matter  what  power  did  it,  the  pro- 
cess must  have  been  limited  to  this  short  period,  and  was 
so  rapid  that  the  parts  formed  first  would  not  have  de- 
composed before  the  last  were  finished.  Of  course,  this 
argument  admits  of  none  of  the  indefinite  periods  which 
modern  science  appropriates  for  the  work  of  bringing 
living  things  into  existence,  and  shuts  us  up  to  the 
twenty-four  hour-day  statements  of  Genesis  as  the  scien- 
tific and  ultimate  truth. 

In  the  history  of  the  first  hen,  we  have  the  fact  that 
there  was  a  moment  before  it  lived,  before  it  breathed, 
and  the  next  moment  it  drew  its  first  breath  and  lived  ; 
and  this  implied  that  it  had  every  vital  organ  as  perfectly 
developed  as  any  living  thing  has  at  the  present  day ; 
and  so  also  has  it  been  with  every  succeeding  genera- 
tion ;  for  at  no  time  does  nature  admit  of  a  different  or 
longer  process  ;  therefore,  the  long  periods  and  incipient 
stages  of  evolution  for  the  performance  of  the  work  were 
always  unscientific  and  impossible.  These  facts  and 
principles  of  natural  science  demonstrate  that  the  first 
progenitors  of  every  species  of  animals  were  as  perfect, 
and  came  into  living  form  as  suddenly,  as  the  book  of 
Genesis  records  them  ;  which  equally  demonstrates  the  so- 
called  modern  science  to  be  no  science,  mere  nonsense. 


352      CONFIJCT   OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

Hence  we  have  the  classic  account  of  the  work  dictated 
by  the  great  Naturahst  himself,  thus  :  *'  And  God  cre- 
ated every  living  creature  that  moveth  and  creepeth 
upon  the  earth,  after  his  kind ;  the  birds  of  the  air  and 
the  fishes  of  the  sea  after  their  kind  ;  male  and  female 
created  he  them."  The  perpetual  miracle  manifested  in 
the  work  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  each  species  was  to  be 
'*  after  its  kind,"  never  to  be  lost  iti  another  ;  and  its  con- 
firmation is  the  fact  that  nature,  assisted  by  the  cultivating 
and  rearing  skill  of  the  great  naturalists  of  the  world,  has 
never  produced  a  generation  different  from  its  kind,  and 
not  a  new  species  of  aninial  or  plant  has  ever  come  into 
existence.  The  test  of  species  is  that  by  crossing  they 
will  not  reproduce  and  persist ;  while  races  are  the  modi- 
fication of  species,  and  will  always  reproduce  and  persist ! 

Latest  Discoveries  Confirm  our  Position. 

To  show  that  no  later  discoveries  have  been  made  to 
relieve  evolution  from  these  embarrassments,  we  quote 
the  following  from  the  July  number  of  Nature,  one  of 
the  most  popular  scientific  periodicals  of  the  day.  It  is 
a  review  by  Henry  De  Varigny,  an  evolutionist,  of  a 
book  by  Albert  Gaudry,  another  evolutionist,  and  Pro- 
fessor of  Paleontology  in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
Paris.  De  Varigny  says,  '^  A  great  deal  has  been  written 
on  the  transformism -theory  of  Lamarck  and  Darwin,  and 
it  must  be  expected  that  much  more  will  be  written. 
One  of  the  principal  objections  made  to  it  is  that,  if  a 
man  is  really  the  descendant  of  the  ape,  and  the  ape  that 
of  other  mammalia  ;  if,  generally,  there  exist  linlis  be- 
tween all  animals,  living  and  extinct,  so  that  all  animals 
trace  their  origin  to  a  common  ancestor,  how  is  it  that 
no  link  really  exists  between  man  and  ape,  or  between 
fish  and  frog,  or  between  vertebrate  and  invertebrate  ? 
Embryological  considerations,  it  is  said,  show  a  real  con- 
nection between  very  different  animals ;  a  frog,  for 
instance,  is  a  fish  %>x  some  time  during  its  youth,  and 
amphioxus  looks  very  much  like  an  ascidian.  But,  not- 
withstanding  numerous  arguments  to  support  Lamarck's 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEBATE.  353 

theory,  no  transformist  can  show  any  species  gradually 
losing  its  peculiar  characters  to  acquire  new  ones  belong- 
ing to  another  species,  and  thus  transforming  itself. 
However  similar  the  dog  may  be  to  the  wolf,  no  one  has 
found  any  dead  skeleton  which  might  be  as  well  ascribed 
to  wolf  as  to  dog,  and  therefore  be  considered  as  being 
the  link  between  the  two.  One  may  say  exactly  as 
much  concerning  the  extinct  species ;  there  is  no  gradual 
and  imperceptible  passage  from  one  to  another.  More- 
over, the  first  animals  that  hved  on  this  earth  are  not,  by 
any  means,  those  that  one  may  consider  as  inferior  and 
degraded.  M.  Gaudry,  in  the  first  pages  of  his  work, 
states  very  clearly  that  he  prefers  the  theory  according  to 
which  links  do  exist  between  the  extinct  animals  of 
different  groups,  but  he  does  not  show  any  facts  to  sup- 
port it." 

Here  we  have  two  facts  developed  by  the  researches  of 
evolutionists  down  to  the  present  time.  First,  that  the 
first  animals  which  inhabited  our  earth  were  by  no 
means  inferior  to  those  which  now  inhabit  it.  Second, 
that  each  species  has  preserved  its  identity  ;  both  of 
which  confirm  the  statements  of  Genesis  as  to  the  origin 
of  animals,  and  as  perfectly  refute  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion. For  more  than  half  a  century  the  evolutionists 
have  been  searching  for  the  links  which  gradually  con- 
nect different  species.  They  have  ransacked  all  nature  ; 
visited  and  searched  every  continent  and  island  on  the 
earth's  surface,  explored  every  sea,  lake,  and  river ; 
climbed  every  mountain  ;  hunted  every  cave ;  sunk  shafts 
in  the  soil,  and  bored  the  rocks.  They  have  paid  par- 
ticular attention  to  snakes,  snails  and  tortoises ;  hunted 
burial-places  for  skulls,  and  calculated  their  age;  and 
for  their  pains  have  not  found  a  hving  creeping  thing  or 
fossilized  specimen  upon  which  to  hang  the  hypothesis  of 
evolution ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  have  found  all  nature 
protesting  against  their  folly ;  and  here  are  the  latest  wit- 
nesses, two  eminent  French  authors  and  evolutionists, 
who  would  love  to  have  the  sceptical  science  true,  but 
find  no  evidence  by  which  to  prove  it. 


23 


354     CONFLICT   OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 


Scientific  Origin  of  Plant-life. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  origin  of  plant-life,  in  order 
to  see  whether  it  was  the  work  of  evolution  or  creation. 
The  position  we  take  in  regard  to  the  question  is,  that 
nature  did  not  have  the  materials  of  which  all  plants  are 
known  to  be  composed,  therefore  the  first  plants  were  the 
work  of  supernatural  power.  In  discussing  the  question 
we  quote  what  is  known  upon  the  subject  of  scientific 
botany  from  the  best  text-books.  What  then  is  the  nour- 
ishing media,  or  food  of  plants  ?  We  can  only  satisfac- 
torily and  precisely  answer  the  question  by  stating  what 
the  simple  and  chemical  component  parts  of  vegetables 
are,  because  it  is  an  established  fact  that  everything  they 
contain  must  be  formed  of  that  which  is  received  from 
without.  The  bulk  of  every  plant  is  composed  of  cellu- 
lar and  vascular  tissue  and  woody  fibre,  and  their  cellular 
membranes  contain  starch,  resin,  salts,  chlorophyl,  and  a 
watery  sap  holding  in  solution  sugar,  gum,  and  acids  in 
union  with  metallic  oxides,  albumin,  volatile  and  fixed 
oils,  with  other  fatty  matters.  The  chief  part  of  every 
plant  passes,  by  combustion,  into  gaseous  combination 
and  disappears,  and  only  the  non-volatile  metallic  oxides 
and  salts  remain  as  ash,  which  forms  an  inconsiderable 
proportion  of  the  weight  of  the  plant.  These  substances 
are  not  in  nature,  for  we  never  meet  with  woody  fibre, 
starch,  sugar,  albumin,  etc.,  except  in  the  plant  itself. 
It  must  therefore  be  the  manufacturer  of  those  articles  out 
of  the  constituents  of  nature  which  it  inhales  from  with- 
out— which  is  principally  carbonic  acid  gas,  composed 
of  carbon  and  oxygen.  Plants  cannot  receive  carbon  in 
its  solid  form  into  their  circulation.  Carbon  is  insolu- 
ble in  water,  but  mixing  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air  and 
water,  for  which  it  has  a  strong  affinity,  it  is  reduced  to 
carbonic  acid  gas.  This  substance  is  received  into  the 
l)lant  ])y  its  roots  and  leaves,  and  is  decomposed  by  the 
I)lant  itself,  which  expels  the  oxygen  not  needed  in  its 
formation  ;  retaining  the  carbon,  and  from  it  alone  forms 
all  the  starch,  sugar,  albumin,  woody  fibre,  etc.,  existing 


HISTORY   OF  THE  DEBATE.  355 

in  nature,  and  which  constitutes  not  only  the  food  for  all 
plants,  but  that  also  for  all  the  animals  of  the  world. 

All  plants  are  formed  of  cells  of  about  the  same  size  and 
shape,  of  which  there  are  22,800  in  a  square  inch.  They 
are  formed  of  layers  from  the  outer  to  the  inner  layer, 
and  down  to  the  centre.  Each  of  these  cells  form  other 
cells  exactly  like  themselves,  adding  cell  to  cell,  and  thus 
the  plant  enlarges  or  grows.  As  the  cells  thus  succeed 
each  other  in  coming  into  existence,  if  we  begin  at  the 
last  and  count  back,  we  come  to  the  first — the  primordial. 
If  it  was  a  plant-cell,  it  had  the  faculty  of  inhahng  car- 
bonic acid  gas  from  the  surrounding  air  and  earth,  and 
then  of  separating  the  oxygen  from  it  and  of  expelling  it. 
It  also  had  the  faculty  of  manufacturing  from  this  sub- 
stance starch,  sugar,  albumin,  etc.,  the  elements  of 
which  itself  was  composed,  and  of  forming  other  cells  of 
these  materials,  and  of  transmitting  to  these  all  its  own 
faculties.  This  argues  the  prior  existence  of  the  first  cell, 
and  of  which  nature  was  always  incapable  of  producing, 
because  she  did  not  possess  any  of  the  score  of  different 
compound  substances  of  which  the  first  was  composed ; 
and,  as  the  cell  existed,  demonstrates  it  to  have  been  a 
work  of  which  nature  was  incapable,  and  therefore  a  su- 
perior, supernatural,  or  a  miraculous  work — the  work  of 
a  living  Creator,  who  made  the  first  plant  of  each  species 
before  there  was  any  growing  or  any  second  generation. 
Hence  we  read  the  only  scientific  and  satisfactory  solu- 
tion of  the  problem  in  the  scriptural  account  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  first  plants  came  and  must  have  come 
into  existence:  ''And  God  made  every  plant  of  the 
field  before  it  was  in  the  ground,  and  every  herb  of  the 
field  before  it  grew,  yielding  fruit  after  his  kind  whose  seed 
is  in  itself  upon  the  earth."  (Gen.  i:  11;  2:  5.) 
Here  were  the  first  plants  of  each  species  made,  involv- 
ing the  mechanical  department  of  producing  ''seed  after 
their  kind,"  all  of  which  have  followed  this  identical 
order  of  reproduction — after  their  kind.  "  Never  have 
men  gathered  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles."  Never, 
therefore,  has  there  come  into  existence  since  the  sixth 
day  of  creation  a  new  species  of  plant  kind ;  and  by  no 


356      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

art  of  man  has  it  been  possible  to  produce  one.  Witli  these 
proclamations  of  fact  and  science,  all  corroborating  the 
Genesis  of  Scripture,  how  does  the  myth  of  evolution  ap- 
pear, which  declares  that  all  species  came  from  one,  and 
all  kinds  from  a  single  kind  !  Here  again  does  science 
and  the  Bible  as  perfectly  agree  as  that  both  disagree  with 
this  so-called  modern  science  of  evolution,  and  the  geo- 
logical fiction  of  the  age  of  the  world. 

Let  us  briefly  consider  the  conditions  and  law  of  vege- 
table growth,  and  which  will  also  show,  by  the  interde- 
pendence of  natural  phenomena,  how  great  a  portion  of 
the  solar  system  is  necessary  to  sustain  the  life  of  man. 
A  seed  must  first  exist ;  yet  not  one  atom  it  possesses 
would  ever  move  toward  life  of  itself.  A  seed,  therefore, 
is  not  a  law  of  nature,  of  plant  production.  Neither  is 
soil  such  a  law,  nor  yet  solar  light ;  nor  is  the  heat  re- 
ceived from  the  sun  such  a  law.  These  may  exist,  yet  if 
the  seed  is  kei)t  out  of  the  soil,  no  vegetable  effect  would 
follow.  If  the  seed  were  planted  in  good  soil  yet  amid 
perpetual  darkness,  still  no  vegetation  would  result,  as  no 
plant  can  be  brought  to  maturity  without  sunlight.  The 
law  of  vegetation,  therefore,  necessitates  the  astronomical 
motions  of  the  earth  and  correlatively  those  of  the  solar 
system.  Su])pose  the  earth  did  not  revolve  on  its  axis  : 
in  that  case  the  half  turned  from  the  sun  would  be  always 
dark  and  cold  ;  hence,  if  the  seed  were  planted  on  that 
side  of  the  earth,  not  one  of  its  particles  would  ever  move 
toward  germination,  and  not  at  all,  except  to  decompose, 
as  they  certainly  would,  unless  the  temperature  was  so 
low  as  to  keep  them  frozen.  We  will  also  suppose  the  seed 
planted  in  a  dry  soil;  but  as  moisture  is  an  essential  ele- 
ment of  vegetable  growth,  dew  or  rain  must  fall  upon  the 
soil  to  prepare  it  to  do  its  work.  But  this  can  only  come 
from  the  atmosphere  ;  and  as  water  is  not  a  constituent 
of  the  air,  it  must  be  drawn  into  it  l)y  an  inherent  prin- 
ciple designed  for  the  purpose.  'J'his  is  its  evaporating 
power. 

The  water  is  princii)ally  taken  u})  from  the  oceans, 
lakes,  and  rivers,  and  it  would  fall  again  directly  into 
those  bodies,  were  it  not  for  the  motion  of  the  clouds, 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEBATE.  357 

themselves  formed  by  the  evaporation.  This  motion  is 
produced  by  the  unequal  expansion  of  the  air,  principally 
resulting  from  the  ecliptic  motion  of  the  earth,  and  that 
upon  its  axes,  perpetually  changing  its  temperature. 
These  correlative  principles  necessitate  not  only  the  exis- 
tence of  the  whole  solar  system,  but  its  motions  as  perfect 
as  at  the  present  day  ;  all  of  which  present  us  with  the  fol- 
lowing fundamental  facts  of  the  science  of  vegetable  hfe  : 
First,  no  plant  or  seed  would  grow  unless  it  was  first  or- 
ganized according  to  the  law  of  plant-life.  Secondly, 
not  the  simplest  plant  could  live  in  any  nascent  or  half- 
formed  condition  of  the  globe,  or  in  one  less  perfect  than 
that  which  now  exists,  and  without  vegetable  food  ani- 
mals, with  man  at  their  head,  could  not  have  existed. 
Third,  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  not  abstractions,  sus- 
ceptible of  existence  prior  to  nature,  and  as  the  evolution- 
ists claim  brought  her  into  existence,  but  that  they  inhere 
chemically  and  electrically  as  integral  parts  of  the  bodies, 
giving  them  their  peculiarities,  with  which  they  were  in- 
corporated by  the  Creator  at  the  formation  of  the  world. 
Thus  does  nature,  or  the  solar  system,  the  great  law  of 
vegetation,  exhaust  herself  in  sustaining  the  temporary 
life  of  man,  demonstrating  him  to  be  the  great  object  for 
which  it  was  made.  Thus  does  the  well-known  voice  of 
botanical  chemistry  negative  the  airy  thing  called  evolu- 
tion. If  man  is  thus  dependent  upon  the  universe,  let  us 
briefly  inquire  how  much  of  it  depends  upon  him.  for  its 
perpetuation.  One  of  the  commonest  objections  scepti- 
cism makes  to  the  Bible  is  that  it  regards  man  as  the 
great  object  for  which  the  world  was  made,  delegating  to 
him  supreme  dominion,  and  of  course  making  all  animals 
and  living  things  subservient  and  dependent  upon  him. 
Man's  desire  to  survive  death,  to  live  again,  and  his  hope 
of  eternal  being,  are  attributed  to  his  pride;  ''for,"  say 
they,  '^  he  has  really  no  more  grounds  for  indulging  such 
a  hope  than  have  the  lower  animals.  As  with  these,  so 
with  him,  death  ends  all."  Indeed,  modern  science 
completely  reverses  this  order,  and  makes  man  dependent 
upon  a  long  line  of  ancestral  weeds,  shell-fish,  and 
monkeys  for  his  existence,  through  which  he  has  crawled 


358      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

into  being,  so  that  in  his  devotions  to  his  numerous  pro- 
genitors he  can  sing, 

All  hail  thou  mighty  monkey !   all  hail  thou  ancient  clam  ! 
Through  you,  by  evolution,  I  came  to  be  a  man  ! 

Our  answer  is,  that  the  sustenance  and  continued  exis- 
tence of  the  lower  animals,  fish  and  fowl,  depend  upon 
the  simultaneotis  existence  and  labor  of  man.  Man  is  the 
only  animal  who  clears  the  land  of  trees,  and  ctiltivates 
the  soil,  sows  seeds,  plants  trees,  and  reaps  harvests. 
There  is  no  account  of  any  race  of  men  so  low  in  the 
scale  of  being,  that  they  did  not  do  these  things,  nor  of 
one  that  did  not  rear  and  use  domestic  animals.  Wild 
wood  will  grow  wherever  there  is  soil  enough  to  sustain 
any  kind  of  plant,  and  they  will  be  numerous  in  propor- 
tion to  the  richness  of  the  soil.  No  cereals  or  fruit  will 
grow  in  dense  woods,  not  even  grass  for  hay,  while  it 
does  not  require  fifty  years  to  grow  a  forest  of  oaks,  and 
not  half  that  time  for  one  of  various  other  kinds  of  trees. 
A  large  portion  of  the  vegetable  matter  produced  upon 
the  earth  is  washed  into  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  seas  by  the 
falling  rain,  which  supplies  the  food  for  the  smaller  fishes, 
while  the  larger  ones  prey  upon  and  devour  the  smaller. 
Birds  and  fowls  feed  on  fruits,  vegetables,  fish,  and  car- 
rion, while  birds  of  prey  devour  the  smaller  ones,  and  the 
domestic  birds  and  fowls.  Let  tis  now  suppose  the  sud- 
den extinguishment  of  mankind,  and  that  the  catastroi^he 
took  place  in  the  spring,  too  early  to  sow  or  i)lant.  As  a 
result,  there  would  be  no  harvests  reaped  that  autumn. 
By  the  next  spring  all  the  domestic  animals  would  have 
died  of  starvation  and  exposure,  while  the  carnivorous 
animals  and  birds  of  prey  fattened  and  increasingly  mul- 
tiplied. But  the  domestic  animals  being  dead,  they  could 
only  live  thereafter  by  devouring  each  other,  and  before 
the  end  of  ten  years  the  last  two  of  these  would  have 
met  in  deadly  conflict,  after  which  the  survivor  would 
have  died  of  starvation.  The  flowers,  vegetables,  fruits, 
and  dead  animals — the  food  for  insects — being  gone,  they 
too  would  have  ceased  to  be,  and  the  smaller  birds,  which 
fed  upon  these  insects,  would  soon  join  the  number  of  the 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEBATE.  359 

dead.  Those  birds  of  prey  which  depended  upon  insect- 
feeding  kind  for  food,  would  soon  devour  the  few  that  re- 
mained, and  finally  also  have  died  of  starvation.  Those 
birds  which  preyed  upon  the  small  fishes  living  close  to 
the  shore  in  shallow  waters,  would  soon  also  perish  for  lack 
of  food.  These  fishes  had  fed  upon  the  living  and  dead 
insects,  and  vegetable  matter  washed  from  the  cultivated 
farms,  but  the  supply  became  exhausted,  and  they  extinct. 
Upon  these  smaller  fishes  the  larger  ones  of  the  deep  de- 
pended for  their  food  ;  but  the  supply  being  cut  off,  they 
too  preyed  upon  each  other,  and  the  last  contest  soon 
comes  between  the  two  surviving  monsters  of  the  deepest 
sea.  The  two  strongest  and  most  savage,  uncivilized  and 
therefore  the  most  unfit  to  survive,  kills  and  devours  his 
antagonist,  and  then  himself  dies  by  starvation,  after 
which  universal  death  reigns  over  the  animal  creation. 
Look  ahead  to  the  end  of  a  century,  and  see  in  what  a 
condition  are  all  the  once  cleared  lands — the  rich  culti- 
vated farms  !  Not  a  spot  which  would  produce  grass  for 
cattle  can  be  found  uncovered  by  wild  brush-wood  and 
trees.  The  fruit-trees,  overtopped  and  choked  by  wild- 
wood,  long  since  became  extinct.  These  facts  not  only 
confirm  but  demonstrate  the  Bible  statements  of  the 
creation,  that  all  organic  beings  and  things,  plants  and 
animals,  with  man  at  their  head,  came  into  existence 
simultaneously,  and  that  the  world  was  made  for  man, 
and  man  for  the  world. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

THE   PHILOSOPHIC   RELATION  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN   RELIGION 
AND    MAN. 

Having  now  discussed  the  principal  questions  of  science 
and  philosophy  in  defence  of  the  Bible  statements  as  to 
the  origin  of  the  world,  we  proceed  more  directly  to  con- 
sider those  which  relate  to  the  nature  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion— that  of  man  to  it,  and  that  of  Christ  to  both  ;  and 
the  first  inquiry  is,  Who  is  Christ?  An  article  in  the 
"  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,"  headed  "  Confucius,"  men- 
tions it  as  a  distinguishing  mark  of  the  greatness  of  the 
Chinese  philosopher,  that  he  deduced  ''the  Golden  Rule" 
from  the  needs  of  human  society.  As  this  fact  is  used  by 
sceptics  to  degrade  Christ  to  the  level  of  a  mere  philoso- 
pher, we  call  attention  to  the  subject  to  show  that  he  bor- 
rowed nothing  from  the  Chinaman,  and  that  Confucius 
had  no  conception  of ''the  Golden  Rule."  Confucius 
lived  three  hundred  years  before  Christ,  and  Moses  lived 
one  thousand  five  hundred  before  Christ,  and  Christ  de- 
clares that  the  ' '  Golden  Rule  ' '  he  taught  was  deduced 
from  the  laws  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  so  that  if  either 
borrowed  it,  it  was  the  Chinaman.  The  rule  of  Confu- 
cius was  only  negative.  Its  language  is,  "  What  you 
would  not  like  to  be  done  to  you,  do  not  do  to  others." 
It  is  obvious  that  a  perfectly  selfish  miser  may  keep  the 
rule  of  Confucius,  which  simply  requires  that  we  do  no 
evil  to  others;  while  the  rule  of  Jesus  requires  this,  and, 
in  addition,  to  do  every  good  to  others  which  lies  within 
our  power — everything  we  would  have  others  do  to  us, 
were  we  in  their  circumstances.  The  practical  part  of 
the  Christian  religion  therefore  consists  in  doing  those 
unselfish  works  which  were  exemplified  in  the  life  and 
taught  by  the  injunctions  of  its  author;  and  its  best  de- 


RELATION  OF   CHRISTIANITY   AND   MAN.      361 

fence  are  the  laws  its  founder  enjoined.  The  Golden 
Rule  of  Christ,  is  in  these  words  :  ' '  Therefore  all  things 
whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. ' ' 
(Matt.  7:12.)  As  proof  of  our  position,  we  present  a 
brief  summary  of  those  principles  from  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  and  from  which  Christ  deduced  the  Golden 
Rule,  and  we  may  add  they  were  the  constitution  of  re- 
vealed religion  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

''The  stranger  that  dwelleth  with  you  shall  be  as  one 
born  among  you  ;  thou  shalt  not  vex  him,  and  thou  shalt 
love  him  as  thyself."  ''Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the 
hoary  head,  and  thou  shalt  honor  the  face  of  an  old  man." 
"  Ye  shall  do  no  unrighteousness  in  judgment,  in  mete- 
yard,  in  weight,  in  measure  ;  just  balances,  just  weights,  a 
just  hin,  shall  ye  have."  "  Regard  not  them  that  have 
familiar  spirits,  neither  seek  after  wizards,  to  be  defiled 
by  them  :  I  am  the  Lord  your  God."  [The  supposed 
gods  of  space,  after  which  the  familiar  spiritualists  seek 
for  the  living  among  the  dead,  are  no  gods — refrain  from 
consulting  those  who  have  this  animal  magnetic  power  to 
glide  familiarly  into  your  mind,  reading  the  brain-pict- 
ures of  your  history  and  returning  them  to  you  as  revela- 
tions from  the  ghosts  of  the  dead — do  not  thus  defile 
yourselves.]  "  If  there  be  among  you  a  poor  man  thou 
shalt  not  harden  thine  heart,  nor  shut  thine  hand  from 
thy  poor  brother  ;  but  thou  shalt  open  thine  hand  wide 
unto  him  ;  thou  shalt  surely  lend  him  sufficient  for  his 
need,  in  that  which  he  wanteth."  "  Thou  shalt  not  de- 
fraud thy  neighbor,  nor  rob  him."  "  The  wages  of  him 
that  is  hired  shall  not  abide  with  thee  until  morning." 
"Thou  shalt  not  hate  thy  brother  in  thy  heart."  "Thou 
shalt  not  avenge,  nor  bear  any  grudge  against  the  children 
of  thy  people  ;  but  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self, and  thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart."  "Thou  shalt  not  deliver  unto  his  master  the 
servant  that  is  escaped  ;  but  he  shall  dwell  among  you 
within  thy  gates,  in  the  place  where  it  liketh  him  best : 
thou  shalt  not  oppress  him."  "  And  when  thou  sendest 
away  thine  hired  servant,  thou  shalt  not  let  him  go  away 


362      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

empty  :  thou  shalt  furnish  him  hberally  out  of  thy  flock, 
and  out  of  thy  floor,  and  out  of  thy  wine-press,  of  that 
wherewith  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  blessed  thee."  (See 
Leviticus  19th,  Exodus  6th,  and  Deuteronomy  15th,  i8th, 
and  24th  chapters.) 

These  scriptures  are  quoted  by  Christ  and  his  apostles 
as  the  Code  of  the  Christian  religion.  Says  Paul.  ''Re- 
member them  that  are  in  bonds,  as  bound  with  them," 
"Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law 
of  Christ."  "Love  worketh  no  ill  to  its  neighbor." 
"  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  Jesus  said,  "  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart ;  and  thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,  and  on  these  two  com- 
mandments hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets. ' '  In  his 
sermon  on  the  mount,  Christ  reaffirms  the  provisions  of 
these  laws  as  the  principles  of  his  religion,  and,  in 
closing,  resolves  them  all  into  the  Golden  Rule,  which 
covers  all  the  reciprocities  of  human  relationship  and 
obligations:  "Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do 
to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  ;  for  this  is  the  law  and 
the  prophets."  Is  it  not  marvellous  that  in  this  late  age 
anyone  should  be  called  on  to  defend  such  a  system  ? 
and  should  not  its  boasting  pride  feel  the  rebuke  of  its 
utter  inability  to  add  the  least  shade  of  improvement  to 
the  perfection  and  grandeur  of  its  standard?  Every 
system  of  mechanics  or  art,  and  of  natural  and  social 
science,  have  their  fundamental  principles.  These  not 
only  relate  to  each  other,  but  are  dependent  upon  the 
physical  laws  of  the  universe,  limiting  the  term  to  signify 
the  solar  system  and  its  Creator.  If  we  understood  the 
entire  correlation  of  natural  existences,  we  would  be  able 
to  deduce  the  purpose  of  an  existence  from  the  fact  of  its 
existence ;  the  whole  phenomena  from  a  knowledge  of  a 
part,  and  its  parts  from  the  whole.  For  example,  the 
globe  from  an  atom,  and  the  atom  from  the  globe ;  the 
ocean  from  a  droj),  and  the  drop  from  the  ocean  ;  the  at- 
mosphere from  a  breath,  and  the  breath  from  the  atmos- 
phere ;  the  vegetable  from  the  animal,  and  the  animal  from 
the  vegetable ;  man  from  the  universe,  and  the  universe 
from  man  ;  the  existence  of  the  Creator  from  that  of  man, 


RELATION   OF   CHRISTIANITY   AND   MAN.      363 

and  man's  existence  from  that  of  his  Maker.  In  a  word, 
if  nature  is  a  system,  any  part  correlates  the  whole,  and 
especially  does  it  include  the  end  it  proposes,  namely, 
the  development  of  man,  the  head  of  nature,  to  the 
highest  mental,  moral,  social,  physical,  and  religious 
exaltation  of  which  his  nature  is  susceptible,  both  in  the 
temporary  and  endless  world. 

If  these  postulates  are  true,  it  follows  that  any  partial 
view  of  the  supposed  teaching  of  nature  which  does  not 
blend  with  the  whole,  or  which  antagonizes  some  known 
part,  demonstrates  its  error,  and  thereby  excludes  it  from 
being  any  part  of  the  universal  science ;  and  this  carries 
with  it  every  assumption,  hypothesis,  inference,  or  sup- 
posed phase  of  natural  teaching  which  is  in  opposition  to 
any  of  its  known  parts.  These  principles  of  nature  which 
for  brevity  we  call  truth,  must  be  in  harmony  with  each 
other,  and  all  the  truth  and  evidence  must  be  on  one 
side  of  every  question,  and  on  that  side  on  which  some 
truth  is  known  to  be  arranged.  There  may  be  that 
which,  for  the  time  being,  seems  to  involve  truth  and 
error  on  both  sides  of  a  question ;  but  this  is  because 
of  superficial  knowledge  of  the  subject  at  the  time,  or 
science  falsely  so  called.  This  involves  the  conclusion, 
that  the  principles  adapted  to  such  development  may  be 
deduced  from  the  physical,  moral,  and  religious  necessities 
of  mankind,  and  would  be  true  if  taught  in  no  book ; 
so  that  if  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion  are 
adapted  to  such  development,  then  the  universal  science 
and  all  its  parts  demonstrate  their  fundamentality  and 
truth.  If,  then,  all  nature  is  interdependent,  and  each 
department  is  essential  to  the  highest  development  of 
man,  including  what  is  called  humanity  as  a  part  [for,  as 
it  cannot  exempt  man  from  death,  the  greatest  deranging 
element  in  human  society],  it  follows  that  such  a  state 
cannot  be  attained  in  the  present  world,  and  as  conclu- 
sively, that  there  must  come  another  world,  wherein 
exemption  from  death  will  make  it  possible.  The  effect 
upon  those  in  this  world  who  have  complied  with  the 
conditions  of  obtaining  an  entrance  into  the  world  of 
purity  and  universal  righteousness,   and    have   therefore 


364      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

been  actuated  in  their  human  career  by  the  purest  motives 
and  highest  aims,  which  has  made  them  the  brightest 
examples  of  human  society ;  because  they  have  refrained 
from  every  evil  and  practised  every  good  within  their 
power,  which  the  real  followers  of  Christ  must  and 
will  do. 

As  this  temporary  development  is  reached  by  belief  in 
the  promises  of  God  of  an  inheritance  in  that  world,  ex- 
emplified by  submission  to  the  necessary  sacrifices  de- 
manded in  this  life  of  all  degrading  indulgences,  a  soci- 
ety composed  of  unbelievers  in  that  purpose  and  those 
promises,  cannot  but  be  low  in  its  aspirations,  selfish  in 
its  spirit,  and  inconsistent  in  its  acts  ;  all  of  which  tend 
to  degrade  and  disintegrate  human  society.  If  unbeliev- 
ers are  too  self-willed  and  proud  to  obey  their  Maker, 
how  can  they  act  otherwise  toward  their  fellow-men  ? 
This  development  is  simply  according  to  the  philosophy 
which,  while  it  aims  at  the  higher,  recedes  from  the 
lower  ;  and,  while  aiming  at  the  supremely  high — the 
possession  of  the  eternal  world  of  righteousness  to  come — 
it  reaches  the  highest  virtue  and  knowledge  in- the  present 
world,  namely,  the  knowledge  of  God's  will  and  pur- 
poses with  man  and  the  world.  The  fundamental  prin- 
ciples and  bonds  of  social  union  are  not  statutory  enact- 
ments, secret  compacts,  communistic  engagements,  or 
conventional  arrangements  of  whatever  name  or  nature, 
but  that  which  inheres  iji  the  character  of  the  individuals 
composing  it.  What  each  member  is  in  himself  is  his 
standard  of  the  social  state.  He  acts  out  what  he  is 
within,  evolves  what  he  involves,  and  cannot  for  any 
considerable  time  do  otherwise,  because  no  man  can  be 
a  permanent  hypocrite  and  it  not  be  known  to  others. 
These  principles  of  deduction  indicate  both  those  of  the 
highest  human  and  immortal  society ;  the  former  being 
unattainable  without  proper  conceptions  and  hopes  of  the 
latter.  The  anticipation  of  an  endless  life  induces  men  to 
shun  every  evil  and  practise  every  virtue  in  this  life; 
and  when  this  is  done  for  Christ's  sake,  it  makes  them 
Christians.  This  is  the  Christian  religion,  thus  deduced 
from  the  wants,  hopes,  and  susceptibilities  of  mankind, 


RELATION   OF   CHRISTIANITY  AND    MAN.      365 

and  its  corroboration  by  the  gospel  statements  demon- 
strates it  to  be  the  universal  science  of  God,  man,  and 
nature  for  time  and  eternity. 

Let  us  hear  the  great  Philosopher  discourse  upon  the 
subject  :  ''  Every  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit.  Every  good 
tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit ;  but  a  corrupt  tree  evil 
fruit.  A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither 
can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit.  A  good  man, 
out  of  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart,  bringeth  forth  good 
things  ;  and  an  evil  man,  out  of  the  evil  treasure,  bring- 
eth forth  evil  things.  First  make  the  tree  good,  and  the 
fruit  will  be  good  ;  or  make  the  tree  corrupt,  and  the 
fruit  will  be  corrupt.  O  generation  of  vipers  !  how  can 
ye,  being  evil,  speak  good  things  ?  for  out  of  the  abun- 
dance of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh."  (Matt.  7  :  17, 
18;  12  :  33-35.)  We  see  by  these  sayings,  which  our 
daily  observation  confirms,  that  it  is  the  heart  of  man — 
his  moral,  feeling,  sensitive  nature — which  is  the  standard 
of  human  rectitude,  purity,  and  virtue,  and  its  action  the 
development  of  the  standard  ;  and  that  these  principles 
divide  mankind  into  but  two  classes.  All  are  good  or 
bad,  as  their  hearts  are  such.  We  may  also  learn  from 
these  facts  the  utter  impossibility  of  forming  a  permanent 
community  composed  of  both  these  classes  and  charac- 
ters, for  "  how  can  two  walk  together,  except  they  be 
agreed?"  The  attempt  may  be  made,  as  it  has  often 
been,  but  the  effort  to  counteract  nature  with  nature  al- 
ways fails.  No  conventionalities  instituted  by  man 
change  selfishness  to  kindness  and  benevolence,  nor  pride 
to  humihty  ;  therefore,  all  schemes  for  the  development 
of  a  permanent  and  prosperous  social  community,  whose 
aims  and  hopes  are  limited  to  selfish  human  nature  and 
the  present  world — call  it  what  you  will,  even  the  relig- 
ion of  humanity,  or  moral  cultured  humanity  without  re- 
ligion— must  always  prove  a  failure,  from  the  fact  that 
all  such  efforts  reverse  the  great  philosophy  of  God  and 
man,  by  attempting  to  cure  the  social  evil  tree  by  doctor- 
ing its  evil  fruit.  Its  devotees  seek  to  ''  gather  grapes 
of  thorns  and  figs  of  thistles."  They  make  efforts  to 
sweeten  the  bitter  fountain  by  medicating  its  streams. 


366      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

It  is  the  attempt  to  practise  the  highest  conditions  of  de- 
velopment without  obeying  the  essential  mandate,  •''  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart."  This 
is  first,  and  gives  the  qualification  to  fulfil  the  second  re- 
quisition, ''Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 

As  though  the  Creator  had  said,  "  Thy  mental  powers 
shall  first  be  devoted  to  the  investigation  and  practice  of 
those  things  which  please  me  ;  and  secondly  to  those 
which  will  be  best  adapted  to  develop  the  highest  inter- 
ests of  thy  fellow-men.  The  love  which  proceeds  from 
the  heart  is  always  characterized  by  purity  of  intention, 
will  both  please  me  and  work  the  greatest  good  to  thy 
fellow-men."  Therefore  the  second  requisition  is,  ''  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  Hence  the  absurd- 
ity of  supposing  a  man  can  act  toward  his  God  whom  he 
does  not  love  as  though  he  did  love  him,  and  of  think- 
ing that  a  man  can  act  toward  his  brother-man  whom  he 
does  not  love  as  himself  as  though  he  did  thus  love  him, 
or  for  a  selfish  man  to  be  unselfish  at  the  same  time. 
This  truth  is  read  and  confirmed  in  the  decline  and  fall 
of  all  the  great  states  of  the  world,  and  the  ruins  of  cities. 
Human  nature  being  the  same,  must  always  repeat  itself 
in  history.  In  our  day  it  clamors  for  freedom  from  all 
religious  restraint.  Abolish  the  Sabbath,  give  us  easy 
divorce.  It  ridicules  God  and  the  Bible,  blasphemes 
Christ,  and  many  make  him  the  i)rinci])al  wizard  in  the 
spiritualistic  religion,  and  give  us  the  ghostly  revelation 
of  free  love,  and  with  whom  progress  is  the  obliteration 
of  all  restraints  upon  passion.  They  repeat  the  cries  of 
their  prototypes,  and  say  unto  God,  ''Depart  from  us  ! 
we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways."  They  proud- 
ly exclaim,  "  Who  is  the  Lord,  that  we  should  serve 
him?"  and  indignantly  cry,  "Cause  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel  to  cease  from  before  us  !  "  The  two  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Christian  religion  are  love  and  sacrifice; 
the  latter  being  the  means  of  its  manifestation.  One 
person  may  love  another,  but  the  only  manner  in  which 
it  can  be  made  known  is  by  sacrifice.  The  one  has 
wants,  and  the  other  jjossesses  the  means  and  disposition 
to  supply  them  ;  and  the  degree  of  love  is  measured  by 


RELATION   OF   CHRISTIANITY   AND    MAN.      367 

the  degree  of  sacrifice  made  to  please  the  object  loved. 
Our  Maker,  desiring  to  be  pleased  and  obeyed  by  the 
first  pair,  while  they  did  not  know  what  would  please  or 
displease  him,  was  obliged  to  make  a  revelation,  and  tell 
them  what  they  might  and  what  they  might  not  do, 
and  of  the  consequences.  But  if  the  man  obeyed,  his 
loyalty  might  be  precarious,  because  it  was  not  prompted 
by  love,  and  to  make  it  supreme  and  constant  he  must 
be  brought  to  love  him  who  imposed  the  duties.  This 
the  man  could  not  yet  do,  because  he  had  no  wants 
which  might  be  graciously  supplied,  he  must  therefore 
feel  independent  of  his  Maker.  The  possession  and  do- 
minion of  the  earth  had  been  committed  to  him  ;  all 
nature  was  subservient  to  his  happiness  ;  he  knows  of 
nothing  he  does  not  possess.  But  now  he  violates  the 
obligation  imposed,  and  deprives  himself  of  the  means  of 
everlasting  hfe. 

The  loss  carries  with  it  the  consciousness  of  shame  and 
want,  and  teaches  him  what  evil  is.  He  can  now  love 
him  who  is  able  and  willing  to  supply  these  wants,  and 
relieve  him  of  the  apprehensions,  even  though  it  be  by 
promises  to  be  fulfilled  in  the  future,  and  for  which  he 
may  in  faith  and  hope  confidently  look.  These  gracious 
promises  the  Creator  made  to  the  first  generation  of  man- 
kind, and  they  have  constituted  the  hope  of  the  saints  of 
all  ages.  To  win  the  love  and  obedience  of  this  pair, 
and  of  their  offspring,  God  must  make  the  greatest  sacri- 
fice in  his  power  so  as  to  afford  them  the  very  strongest 
inducement  to  love  and  sacrifice  for  him  in  turn — and 
that  must  be  the  sacrifice  of  a  life  ;  anything  less  would 
not  show  the  greatest  love  for  man  and  the  world.  Hence 
the  revelation — "  For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
him  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  "■  For 
greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friend."  But  as  the  immortal  God 
could  not  die,  he  must  take  on  him  a  living  nature  in 
which  he  could  die,  which  he  did  when  he  became  ''  Im- 
manuel,  God  with  us — God  manifest  [seen]  in  the  flesh." 
In  this  form  God  was  both  Father  and  Son.     Before  this 


368      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

he  was  only  such  in  purpose,  made  known  in  decree, 
prophecy,  and  typical  revelation.  This  Immanuelized 
being  is  the  Christian's  God,  as  taught  in  the  Bible, 
the  one  living  and  true  God,  the  Creator  of  all  things. 
"  Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of  God,  because  he  died 
for  us."  (i  John  3:  16.)  To  show  that  this  Re- 
deemer, Saviour,  and  destined  King  of  the  coming  new 
world  is  the  only  living  God,  as  taught  in  the  Scriptures, 
we  quote  but  one  of  its  predictions  and  its  revelation  in 
the  New  Testament.  '^  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  king  of 
Israel,  and  his  Redeemer,  the  Lord  of  hosts :  I  am  the 
first  and  I  am  the  last ;  and  beside  me  there  is  no  God. 
Is  there  a  God  beside  me  ?  Yea,  there  is  no  God  ;  I 
know  not  any."  (Isa.  44:  6,  8.)  This  passage  is  re- 
vealed by  Christ  himself  to  John  thus  :  "I  am  Alpha 
and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  ending,  saith  the  Lord, 
the  Almighty.*  I  am  the  first  and  I  am  the  last ;  I  am 
he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead ;  and  behold,  I  am  alive  for 
evermore,  Amen,  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  death." 
(Rev.  I  :  8,  17,  18.)  It  was  not  the  human  form 
which  was  Jesus  Christ,  nor  was  God  Jesus  Christ  before 
he  took  this  form ;  but  God  in  it  was  both  God  and 
Christ,  the  Father  and  Son — the  Lord  of  Glory,  and  the 
man  Christ  Jesus. 

That  this  human  form  was  the  whole  Godhead  is  also 
proved  by  the  following  apostolic  declaration  :  "  For  in 
him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily." 
(Col.  2  :  9.)  He  was  the  Creator  before  he  took  human 
form,  and  was  he  any  less  the  Creator  afterward  ?  If 
God  could  make  bodies  for  men,  could  he  not  make  one 
for  himself,  involving  himself  in  it  ?  If  he  could  live  in 
it  as  a  man,  could  he  not  die  in  it  as  a  God  ?  and  while 
he  was  thus  dead  would  not  God  be  the  same  being  as  he 
was  before  the  Immanuelization  ?  Or  could  he  not  on 
the  third  day  become  Immanuel  the  second  time,  thus 
investing  himself  with  the  same  dead  body,  the  human- 
mortal  life  of  which  he  had  sacrificed  for  men  to  win 
them  to  become  his  loyal,  loving  servants  and  thus,  by 
his  own  living,  immortal  self,  rendering  it  no  more  sus- 
ceptible of  death  ?     And  if  this  resurrected  Lord  thus  be- 


RELATION   OF   CHRISTIANITY   AND   MAN.      369 

came  Christ  again,  can  he  not  by  [with]  Christ,  the 
whole  embodiment  of  God,  resurrect  his  saints  from  the 
dead,  when  the  time  appointed  for  that  work  arrives? 
Whatever  was  the  substantial  nature  of  God  before  he  be- 
came Immanuel,  he  now  becomes  the  palpable  God-man 
revealed  in  human  form  ;  a  form  in  which  he  might  sac- 
rifice himself  for  his  creatures,  in  order  to  win  loving 
friends  for  his  kingdom  and  that  he  might  be  seen — 
''  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  and  in  this  his  last  form  to 
reign  with  his  subjects  and  be  like  them  in  his  endless 
world.  From  henceforth  he  is  no  more  the  invisible 
God,  whose  face  no  man  had  seen  or  could  see  ;  but  in 
the  very  glorified  nature  of  his  glorified  brethren,  be- 
comes forever  visible.  Upon  this  subject  we  have  such 
testimony  as  the  following :  ''I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the 
earth,  and  in  my  flesh  [the  flesh  of  man]  I  shall  see  God." 
John  testifies  :  ^'  We  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see 
him  as  he  is."  ''No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time, 
but  the  only  begotten  Son,  he  hath  declared  him ;  "  and 
Christ's  declaration  is,  ''I  and  my  Father  are  one,  and 
he  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father  also."  No 
more  the  invisible,  impalpable,  but  the  Immanuelized 
God-man — "  The  Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings  :  the 
first  and  the  last,  and  beside  whom  there  is  no  God." 

It  is  evident  that  the  second  creation  of  the  world  and 
its  inhabitants  demands  the  same  wisdom  and  power  as 
did  its  original  creation  ;  and  as  Jesus  Christ  is  the  re- 
vealed re-creator  and  Saviour,  it  follows  that,  if  he  is  any- 
thing less  in  wisdom  and  power  than  the  original  Cre- 
ator, he  is  inadequate  to  the  work  ;  but  after  his  second 
Immanuelization  from  the  dead,  we  hear  him  declaring, 
"  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth." 
(Matt.  28  :  18);  and  Paul,  in  i  Cor.  i  :  24,  says  that 
"  Christ  is  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  the  power  of  God." 
He  therefore  embodies  it  all,  and  which  the  Immanueli- 
zation alone  explains.  Indeed,  the  power  and  wisdom  he 
displayed  in  his  mortal  history  over  organic  and  inor- 
ganic matter — in  stilling  the  tempest,  raising  the  dead, 
and  controlling  the  laws  of  vegetable  and  animal  life — 
24 


3/0      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

were  manifestations  of  all  the  wisdom  and  jxjwer  which 
the  creation  of  the  world  demanded  :  and  when  this  work 
is  accomplished,  it  is  the  promised  salvation  of  which  the 
gospel  is  the  glad  tidings  :  the  re-created  world  being  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  of  Christ — one  God  with  various 
titles.  All  the  revealed  instruction  concerning  its  nature 
and  coming  is  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  when  its 
immortal  inhabitants  take  possession  of  it,  then  they  are 
saved — safe  beyond  all  future  liabihty.  This  is  expressed 
in  such  language  as  the  following  :  '*  Receiving  the  end  of 
your  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  your  souls  " — yourselves  ; 
for  the  Christian  religion  does  not  propose,  like  heathen- 
ism, to  save  a  disintegrated  part — a  mere  ghost  of  a  man, 
but  the  man  himself — body,  soul,  and  spirit — * '  Man  all 
immortal." 

In  this  world  Christians  are  saved  by  faith.  '*  That 
is,  they  believe  they  will  be  saved  when  the  salvation 
comes.  Then  faith  is  superseded  by  possession,  and  ends. 
In  the  present  world  they  'Mvalk  by  faith  and  not  by 
sight."  Their  eye  is  fixed  on  the  salvation  which  they 
do  not  yet  see.  They  are  also  declared  to  be  "  saved  by 
grace."  This  is  the  gift  of  God,  comprehending  the 
bestowment  of  eternal  life  in  the  endless  world.  This 
gracious  promised  reward  has  been  a  sufficient  induce- 
ment to  encourage  the  saints  of  all  ages  to  sacrifice  every- 
thing of  the  present  world,  even  life  itself,  rather  than  for- 
feit their  heirship  to  it  ;  and  in  their  trials  they  hear  the 
cheering  words,  '-  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  you."  ''  He 
that  shall  endure  unto  the  end,  the  same  shall  be  saved." 
"■  He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things  :  and  I  will 
be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my  son."  ''  Wherefore  gird 
up  the  loins  of  your  mind  ;  be  sober,  and  hope  to  the 
grace  that  is  to  be  brought  unto  you  at  the  revelation 
of  Jesus  Christ."  Again  it  is  said,  "We  are  saved  by 
hope,  and  if  we  hoi:>e  for  that  we  see  not,  then  do  we 
with  i^atience  wait  for  it."  (Rom.  8  :  24,25.)  "Look- 
ing for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious  api)earing  of 
the  great  God  our  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  :  who 
shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like 
unto  his    glorious    body,    according    to     the     working 


RELATION   OF   CHRISTIANITY   AND   MAN.      37 1 

whereby  he  is  able  even  to  subdue  all  things  unto  him- 
self." (Phil.  3:  21.)  Here  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour, 
is  to  come  and  give  the  great  salvation  for  which  the 
saints  of  all  ages  have  hoped.  Hence  "  we  are  saved  by 
hope" — we  hope  then  to  be  saved.  Abraham  looked 
for  a  heavenly  country,  and  was  heir  of  the  world — the 
world  to  come — the  new  heaven  and  new  earth.  Hence 
says  Christ,  '' But  they  which  shall  be  counted  worthy 
to  obtain  that  world,  and  the  resurrection  from  the  dead, 
neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage ;  neither  can 
they  die  any  more  ;  for  they  are  equal  unto  the  angels 
and  are  the  children  of  God,  being  the  children  of  the 
resurrection."  (Luke  20  :  35,  ;^6.')  It  is  also  said, 
"  We  live  by  faith."  Jesus  said,  "  I  am  the  resurrection 
and  the  life.  He  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were 
dead,  yet  shall  he  live."  Paul  says,  "  For  ye  are  dead, 
and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  When  Christ, 
who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear 
with  him  in  glory." 

Who  can  see  an  inconsistency  in  this  instruction,  or  an 
impossibility  of  its  execution  ? 

Let  us  for  a  moment  return  to  our  Protoplast.  Here 
is  a  man  and  a  woman  physically  mature,  bearing  the 
corresponding  marks  of  age,  as  did  all  animals,  plants, 
and  rocky  strata,  though  but  one  week  old.  "  And  God 
called  their  name  Adam,  'm  the  day  when  they  were  cre- 
ated." (Gen.  5:2.)  They  possess  faculties  to  think,  will, 
and  act.  But  a  man  can  only  act  after  he  wills  to  act. 
He  can  only  will  after  he  thinks.  He  can  only  think 
after  he  has  brains  and  organs  of  sense ;  and  only  then 
after  he  is  alive.  As  no  man  can  think  for  him  or  will 
for  him,  so  no  man  can  act  for  him,  not  even  his  Maker ; 
for  if  the  Maker  should  compel  his  will,  and  he  should 
act  under  such  compulsion,  it  would  not  be  the  act  of  the 
man,  but  that  of  the  controlling  will  ;  and  for  such  an 
act  the  will  which  prompted  it  would  be  alone  responsi- 
ble. Here  are  two  persons,  each  having  a  will.  Each 
person  must  have  a  will,  and  no  person  can  have  two 
wills.  One  is  the  Creator,  the  other  the  creature.  The 
creature  desires  to  be  pleased  with  what  he  makes,  and 


3/2      CONFLICT   OF   THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

expects  it  to  subserve  the  purpose  he  designed — that  it 
should  in  some  way  minister  to  his  pleasure  and  satisfac- 
tion. From  these  characteristics  of  the  creature,  we  rea- 
son that  the  Creator  also  desires  to  be  pleased  with  what 
he  makes,  and  that  it  should  answer  the  purpose  for 
which  he  designed  it,  and  thereby  minister  to  his  pleas- 
ure and  gratification.  Indeed,  it  is  no  more  possible  for 
the  Creator  to  make  a  thing  on  purpose  to  displease  him, 
than  for  a  creature  to  commit  such  folly.  If,  then,  the 
man  can  will  and  act,  and  act  independently  of  the  Cre- 
ator— which  simply  means  that  he  can  do  a  voluntary  act 
at  all — it  follows  that  he  has  the  ability  to  act  in  accord- 
ance with  the  will  of  his  Creator,  and  to  obey  him.  This 
implies  the  ability  to  act  contrary  to  his  will,  and  to  dis- 
obey him. 

Having  thus  made  him  a  man,  and  endowed  him  with 
the  gift  of  volition  and  the  power  to  displease  him,  how 
to  win  such  a  being  to  love  and  obey  his  Creator,  is  the 
vital  question ;  for,  to  secure  his  love  and  fidelity,  and 
rescue  him  from  infidelity,  would  afford  him  greater 
pleasure  than  to  behold  all  the  glories  of  the  universe  be- 
sides, which  had  no  power  to  disobey  him.  And  how  is 
this  enhanced  when  we  consider  man's  intellectual  facul- 
ties ?  By  the  use  of  these  man  alone  is  capable  of  inves- 
tigating and  of  ai)ijreciating  the  wonderful  wisdom  and 
l)ower  displayed  by  the  Creator  in  the  mechanism  of  the 
world,  and  the  adaptation  of  its  parts  to  work  out  God's 
purposes  and  ends ;  thus  pleasing  his  great  Father  as  a 
precocious  son  pleases  his  natural  father ;  for  man  alone 
has  the  power  to  discover  the  grandeur  of  the  great  Ar- 
chitect of  the  universe  ;  and  every  such  conception  draws 
from  the  myid  of  him  who  ente«;tains  it  an  act  of  merited 
honor  and  worship,  elevating  to  himself,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, brightening  the  halo  of  glory  encircling  the  great 
Inhabitant  of  eternity. 

Now,  if  some  of  his  creatures  thus  "  give  the  Lord  the 
honor  due  unto  his  name,"  is  it  not  arrogant  for  others 
who,  in  their  selfish  jjride  and  jealousy,  desire  all  honor 
to  be  paid  to  themselves,  to  question  the  right  of  the 
Maker  to  have  made   those  who  remain  proud  and  con- 


RELATION    OF   CHRISTIANITY   AND    MAN.      373 

ceited  ?  That  because  one  refuses  to  perform  the  duties 
which  another  recognizes  and  discharges,  and  thereby 
gains  his  Maker's  approval  and  promised  reward,  God 
had  no  right  to  cause  both  men  to  exist !  That  the  Crea- 
tor has  no  right  to  be  honored  and  obeyed,  because  some 
persist  in  dishonoring  and  disobeying  him  !  As  if  the 
disobedient  father  of  an  obedient  son  should  not  have 
been  born,  thus  depriving  the  obedient  son  of  existence. 
Or,  as  all  fathers  are  disobedient  at  some  period  of  their 
lives,  and  have  violated  the  laws  of  God,  although  mul- 
titudes of  them  would  have  repented  of  their  folly,  see- 
ing that  the  loss  would  fall  only  upon  themselves,  and 
would  have  been  ''converted  from  the  error  of  their 
way." 

This  complaint  against  God  for  having  made  man,  is 
the  argument  of  the  disobedient,  the  self-willed  and 
proud,  but  never  of  the  lover  and  worshipper  of  God.  If 
God  was  morally  like  themselves,  would  they  not  glory 
in  having  such  a  distinguished  leader,  just  as  they  glory 
in  such  men  as  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  and  Charles  Brad- 
laugh?  The  weakness  of  their  defence  obliges  them, 
against  their  own  reason,  to  make  every  effort  to  dissi- 
pate from  their  minds  the  conviction  of  the  existence  of 
God,  and  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  which  are 
the  greatest  sources  of  their  trouble.  If  they  would  make 
half  the  effort  to  end  the  contest  with  their  Maker  that 
they  do  to  prolong  it,  O  !  what  changed  men  would  they 
become  !  Has  not  God  blessed  these  men  with  life?  If 
they  did  not  esteem  life  a  blessing,  would  they  not  com- 
mit suicide?  For  its  preservation  they  submit  to  three 
score  and  ten  years  of  toil,  hardship,  and  suffering.  If 
temporal  life  is  the  gift  of  God,  and  for  which  he  de- 
mands and  they  pay  such  an  enormous  price,  can  they 
expect  him  to  give  them  eternal  life  without  any  price  or 
sacrifice,  and  while  they  continue  his  enemies?  If  nature 
is  the  god  that  brought  them  into  being,  does  he  deal  so 
mercifully  and  mildly  with  them  that  they  should  praise 
and  worship  him  ?  They  complain  against  God,  because 
he  threatens  to  punish  them  if  they  continue  all  their  life 
to  disobey  his  laws  and  refuse  to  be  his  loyal  subjects ; 


374      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

but  they  praise  their  god  nature,  while  he  instantly  and 
implacably  punishes  friend  and  foe  alike  for  every  trans- 
gression of  his  laws,  and  mercilessly  sends  forth  his  con- 
flagrations to  burn,  his  gravity  to  crush  and  mangle, 
hurricanes  to  scourge,  famines  to  starve,  pestilences  to 
devour,  floods  to  drown,  lightnings  to  kill,  earthquakes 
to  engulf,  and  lets  loose  the  whole  host  of  deadly  diseases 
to  torture  his  devotees;  and  at  death  executes  upon  them 
hopeless  annihilation  !  Why  should  they  prefer  such  a 
god? 

Another  of  these  complaints  against  God  is,  that  he 
knew  when  he  made  these  opposers  and  detractors  of  his 
character  and  honor  that  their  end  would  be  punishment 
and  destruction  ;  and  because  such  an  end  is  inevitable, 
they  say  they  will  not  serve  a  god  that  would  inflict  it. 
We  admit  that  God  foreknew  this  destiny.  He  foreknew 
it  because  he  foresaw  it  just  as  a  man  foreknows  that  a 
steam-boiler  which  he  has  made  will  explode  under  cer- 
tain circumstances ;  but  did  his  knowledge  explode  the 
boiler?  God  foreknew,  because  he  foresaw,  that  sin  and 
death  would  reign  six  thousand  years  in  the  world  which 
he  was  going  to  make.  The  disobedience  of  men  would 
make  this  reign,  and  God  saw  it.  Had  mankind  always 
been  loyal  to  his  laws,  death  had  never  entered  the  world. 
This  history  he  would  also  have  foreknown,  because  hav- 
ing foreseen  it ;  but  in  neither  ca.se  would  his  knowledge 
have  produced  any  effect  upon  the  result.  Knowledge 
simply  qualifies  to  act,  but  does  nothing.  God  deter- 
mined on  having  a  certain  number  of  inhabitants  in  his 
new  world,  and  foreknew,  because  he  foresaw,  how  long 
it  would  require  him  to  induce  this  number  to  accept  the 
conditions  of  the  citizenship,  and  thus  become  candidates 
for  the  eternal  empire  ;  and  he  appointed  the  very  day 
on  which  he  foresaw  the  last  man  needed  to  com])lete  the 
number  would  accept  the  terms  of  loyalty,  as  that  upon 
which  he  would  return  and  finish  the  work  he  had  deter- 
mined to  accomplish.  To  deny  this  right  of  the  Pro- 
prietor of  the  world,  involves  the  absurdity  that  a  uni- 
versal government  of  virtue  and  righteousness  has  no 
right  to  exist,  because  it  displeases  the  vicious  and  rebel- 


RELATION   OF   CHRISTIANITY   AND    MAN.      375 

lious ;  or  that  a  government  has  no  right  to  destroy  those 
who  would  destroy  it  ;  that  a  king  has  no  right  to  exclude 
from  his  dominions  those  who  had  taken  the  lives  of  mil- 
lions of  his  subjects  and  would  exterminate  them  all,  and 
the  king  himself,  rather  than  be  themselves  exterminated. 

Who  can  but  desire  the  establishment  of  a  government 
covering  the  whole  earth,  wherein  all  apprehensions  of 
decay  or  death  have  been  superseded  by  organic  immor- 
tality ?  wherein  those  who  had  been  the  righteous  poor 
in  the  former  world,  have  taken  possession  of  incorrupt- 
ible riches ;  wherein  pain  and  sorrow  have  been  ex- 
changed for  strength,  health,  and  endless  pleasure  :  where- 
in ignominious  persecution  for  Christ's  sake  is  repaid  by 
eternal  honors  ;  wherein  the  weakness  of  mortality  is 
superseded  by  the  power  of  an  endless  life,  and  the  badge 
of  the  despised  and  abused  Nazarene  is  exchanged  for  the 
eternal  companionship  of  God,  angels,  and  immortal  men  ? 
Who  is  so  in  love  with  sin  and  the  present  world  that  he 
cannot  be  induced  to  make  the  necessary  sacrifices  to  ob- 
tain such  an  exalted  reward  ? 

Such  are  the  provisions,  such  are  the  promises,  and 
such  the  hope  of  the  Christian  religion  !  Who  would 
blot  it  from  the  records  of  the  world  ?  If  any — ''  Father, 
forgive  them  !  they  know  not  what  they  do  !  " 

Forty  Syllogistic  Conclusions. 

That  the  force  and  conclusiveness  of  the  principal  argu- 
ments we  have  now  presented  may  be  more  readily  per- 
ceived, we  resolve  them  into  the  form  of  syllogisms  and 
aphorisms. 

1.  Persons  exist ;  impersonality  cannot  create  persons  ; 
therefore  the  Creator  is  a  person. 

2.  Persons  are  creatures;  creatures  had  a  Creator; 
therefore  there  is  a  creator. 

3.  A  thing  has  locality  ;  space  has  no  locality  ;  there- 
fore space  is  not  a  thing. 

4.  A  thing  has  locality  ;  God  is  something  ;  therefore 
God  has  locality. 

5.  The  origin  of  nature  demands  volition  ;  nature  is 


3/6      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

incapable  of  volition ;  therefore  nature  did  not  originate 
nature. 

6.  The  Creator  could  not  have  been  created  ;  that 
would  have  made  him  a  creature ;  therefore  he  was  un- 
created. 

7.  All  things  in  nature  are  effects  ;  effects  are  less  than 
their  cause  ;   therefore  the  cause  was  supernatural. 

8.  The  cause  could  not  have  begun  to  be  ;  that  would 
have  made  it  an  effect ;  therefore  the  cause  was  uncaused. 

9.  All  minds  are  causes  ;  causes  are  limited  to  first  and 
second  orders.  Man  is  a  second  cause,  as  his  existence 
was  caused. 

10.  Created  minds  cannot  create  the  simplest  thing  of 
nature  ;  therefore  all  had  a  Creator,  as  much  greater  than 
man  as  he  is  greater  than  the  greatest  work  of  art. 

11.  Whatever  makes  things  of  which  nature  is  incapa- 
ble [a  locomotive  engine,  for  example],  is  a  creator. 
Man  makes  such  things ;   therefore  man  is  a  creator. 

12.  The  mechanical  power  of  each  mind  is  limited  to 
that  which  it  can  comprehend.  Man  cannot  comprehend 
the  mechanical  principles  involved  in  his  own  nature  ;  he 
therefore  acknowledges  the  existence  of  that  which  he 
cannot  comprehend. 

13.  Everything  is  a  miracle  of  which  nature  is  incapa- 
ble; nature  is  incapable  of  making  a  living  animal  or 
plant ;  therefore  the  origin  of  living  things  was  miraculous. 

14.  Every  act  of  nature  is  involuntary  ;  involuntary 
acts  originate  nothing  ;  therefore  the  origin  of  all  things 
was  a  living,  supernatural  Being  of  voluntary  power. 

15.  All  power  is  of  mind;  nature  manifests  power; 
therefore  nature  is  the  work  of  mind. 

16.  Whatever  nature  evolves  must  have  been  first  in- 
volved in  her  ;  all  nature  is  evolution  ;  therefore  involu- 
tion was  first,  was  creation,  and  brought  nature  to  birth. 

17.  There  was  a  time  before  nature  existed  ;  a  thing 
cannot  act  before  it  existed  ;  therefore  nature  did  not 
cau.se  her  own  existence. 

18.  All  acts  of  nature  are  upon  conditions  ;  conditions 
exist  before  their  resultant  acts  ;  therefore  the  conditions 
was  nature's  creation. 


RELATION    OF    CHRISTIANITY   AND    MAN.      377 

19.  Inorganic  things  move  by  necessity;  that  which 
moves  by  necessity  had  no  power  to  commence  the  mo- 
tion ;  therefore  the  power  was  supernatural. 

20.  Organic  things  are  greater  than  inorganic  things, 
the  lesser  cannot  make  the  greater ;  therefore  the  organic 
was  miraculous  work. 

21.  Living  things  cannot  evolve  from  those  which  do 
not  involve  their  embryons ;  living  things  do  evolve  from 
embryons ;  therefore  the  embryons  and  the  living  things 
which  possess  them  were  creations. 

22.  Rudiments  cannot  perform  functions  ;  the  first 
living  things  performed  all  the  functions  of  life ;  therefore 
it  was  a  perfect  living  organism,  without  a  rudiment. 

23.  The  process  of  bringing  the  first  living  thing  into 
existence  must  have  consumed  so  short  a  time  that  the 
part  made  first  could  not  have  decomposed  before  the  last 
part  was  finished ;  therefore  the  time  and  process  must 
have  been  according  to  the  statements  made  in  the  book 
of  Genesis. 

24.  Whatever  is  essential  to  life  is  a  part  of  the  life  ; 
all  the  vital  organs  are  essential  to  life  ;  therefore  the  first 
living  things  were  as  perfect  organizations  as  any  of  their 
successors  have  been. 

25.  Each  species  preserves  its  own  identity  ;  no  new 
species  has  ever  come  into  existence ;  therefore  the  first 
pair  of  each  were  created  at  the  beginning  of  the  world. 

26.  Each  species  has  natural  parents  ;  the  first  pair  of 
each  had  no  natural  parents ;  therefore  the  first  pair  of 
each  species  were  creations. 

27.  The  food  of  plants  is  not  in  nature;  plants  make 
their  own  food  ;  therefore  the  first  plants  were  creations. 

28.  Living  things  succeed  each  other  in  coming  into 
existence.  Beginning  at  the  first  and  counting  back,  we 
come  to  the  first  ;  therefore  there  was  a  first. 

29.  Inorganic  things  cannot  form  purposes;  such 
things  manifest  purposes  ;  therefore  a  supernatural  power 
involved  these  dynamics. 

30.  Nothing  but  a  reasoning  being  possesses  economy ; 
unreasoning  nature  shows  economy  ;  therefore  a  reasoning 
Being  involved  this  principle  in  her  works, 


3/8      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

31.  The  solar  system  [it  is  said]  was  once  a  fiery, 
molten  mass.  Fire  destroys  that  upon  which  it  preys  ; 
therefore  the  world  did  not  come  into  existence  upon  the 
fiery  hypothesis. 

32.  Nebula  vapor  cannot  burn  [it  is  said  the  nebula 
was  before  the  fire]  ;  therefore  the  fiery  world  never  ex- 
isted. 

33.  Evolutionists  say  the  original  matter  was  homo- 
geneous :  homogeneous  matter  has  no  chemical  com- 
pounds to  dissolve;  therefore  it  could  never  have  burned, 
as  burning  is  dissolution. 

34.  Gases  must  have  been  formed  into  compounds 
before  they  could  have  dissolved  by  burning ;  therefore 
the  world  was  never  in  a  state  of  gaseous  fusion. 

35.  The  atmosphere  contains  only  twenty-seven  parts 
of  inflammable  gases ;  therefore  it  was  never  a  fiery  mass. 

36.  Fossils  are  found  in  rocks  ;  liquid  fire  leaves  no 
fossils ;  therefore  the  rocks  were  never  liquid  fire. 

37.  If  left  to  cool,  fire  leaves  nothing  but  ashes  and 
cinder.  The  crust  of  the  earth  is  not  ashes  and  cinders  ; 
therefore  it  was  never  a  fiery,  nebulous  mass. 

38.  Gravity  was  essential  to  the  formation  of  the  solar 
system ;  a  world  of  liquid  fire  has  no  gravity  ;  therefore 
the  world  never  commenced  its  existence  upon  the  nebula 
theory. 

39.  If  the  Creator  ever  caused  the  account  of  the 
origin  of  the  world  and  its  inhabitants  to  be  written,  that 
account  must  bear  the  stamp  of  the  highest  philosophical 
science.  As  we  have  found  the  Scripture  statements  of 
that  work  to  be  philosophic  necessities,  therefore  the 
author  of  those  statements  w^as  the  Creator  of  nature. 

40.  To  suppose  there  was  no  higher  object  in  bringing 
the  world  and  its  inhabitants  into  existence  than  that 
which  they  manifest,  argues  the  Creator  acted  without  a 
reasonable  puri)Ose  ;  but  as  everything  in  nature  answers 
such  a  purpose,  forbids  such  a  reflection,  and  indicates 
the  ultimate  purpose  to  be  of  future  development,  and 
cannot  be  of  less  perfection  than  that  consummation  re- 
vealed in  the  Bi])le. 

41.  The    Scriptures   contain    the   prehistoric,   or  pro- 


RELATION   OF   CHRISTIANITY   AND   MAN.      379 

phetic,  record  of  the  civil,  moral,  and  religious  march  of 
the  family  of  man  down  through  all  the  ages  to  the  pre- 
sent day,  therefore  none  but  a  Being  who  saw  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  could  have  been  their  author. 

42.  Man  is  a  being  of  mercy  ;  a  merciless  being  could 
not  have  made  one  of  mercy,  because  he  would  have  been 
better  and  greater  than  himself;  therefore  God  is  merci- 
ful. 

43.  God  made  man  with  power  to  obey  him  ;  that 
carried  with  it  the  power  to  disobey ;  therefore  man  can 
only  become  a  subject  of  God's  government  by  induce- 
ment offered  to  his  understanding.  If  he  persistently  re- 
fuses to  obey,  his  Maker  may  destroy  him  ;  but  destruc- 
tion is  not  government,  and  the  man  still  triumphs. 

44.  The  proprietor  of  man's  existence  must  desire  his 
obedience,  as  the  disobedience  of  his  creatures  mars  his 
happiness  ;  therefore,  if  he  would  be  supremely  and  end- 
lessly happy,  there  must  come  a  time  when  every  created 
being,  whether  of  human  or  angelic  origin,  will  be  recon- 
ciled to  the  will  and  government  of  the  Creator,  or  have 
perished. 

45.  The  interest  manifested  by  the  Creator  in  the  de- 
tails of  organic  and  inorganic  nature,  forbids  his  indiffer- 
ence to  the  smallest  acts  of  his  intelligent  creature ;  yet 
in  the  present  world  his  most  loving  and  loyal  subjects 
suffer  the  greatest  hardships.  This  demonstrates  the 
necessity,  upon  the  ground  of  justice,  that  there  shall  be 
another  world,  in  which  all  this  will  be  reversed,  and 
"  Lazarus  will  have  his  good  things,  and  the  rich  man  his 
evil  things." 

Man  Cannot  Co7'nipt  the  Scriptures. 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  briefly  to  allude  to  the 
charge  that  the  Scriptures  have  been  corrupted  in  passing 
through  various  translations.  Our  answer  is  a  flat  de- 
nial ;  and  we  assert  that  there  cannot  be  produced  a 
translation  which  has  omitted  or  inserted  a  single  doc- 
trine not  taught  in  every  other.  We  affirm,  moreover, 
that  the  corruption  has  always  been  impossible.     They 


380      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

were  given  in  such  diversity  of  manner  and  division, 
that  an  error  by  addition  or  omission  in  one  part  may  be 
corrected  by  reference  to  another.  What  we  mean  to  say 
is,  that  they  are  so  divided  that  the  distinctive  parts  are 
each  complete  in  themselves,  and  each  contains  the  whole 
system  of  revealed  truth.  The  first  division  is  the  types 
and  revelations  of  Genesis,  from  which  God  preached  the 
gospel  to  Abraham.  (Gal.  3:8.)  Second,  It  is  all  taught 
in  the  commands,  types,  and  precepts  of  the  laws  of 
Moses.  Third,  The  whole  gospel  is  taught  in  the  Scrip- 
tures of  the  prophets.  Fourth,  It  is  also  as  comprehen- 
sively written  in  the  book  of  Psalms.  Fifth,  The  sermon 
on  the  mount  and  plain  teachings  of  Jesus  while  on  earth 
also  contain  the  whole  gospel ;  all  of  which  was  taught 
before  in  the  Old  Testament.  Sixth,  Christ's  parables, 
most  of  which  were  copied  from  or  built  upon  Old  Testa- 
ment records,  leave  no  part  of  the  gospel  out.  Seventh, 
It  is  equally  full  in  the  book  of  Acts.  Eighth,  The  epis- 
tles of  the  apostles  also  give  us  a  complete  gospel.  Ninth, 
The  book  of  "  The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,"  all  of 
which  is  the  unfolding  of  inspired  prophecy,  contains  an 
unbroken  chain  of  gospel  truth,  and  the  whole  of  it. 

Each  of  these  grand  divisions  of  the  Word  of  God  is 
such  a  perfect  expression  of  his  will  and  purposes  with 
man  and  the  world,  that  had  we  anyone  of  them,  and 
were  there  but  one  instead  of  nine,  we  would  be  furnished 
with  a  perfect  system  of  Gospel  truth.  Hence  the  wis- 
dom of  giving  it  thus,  so  that  each  age  of  the  world  had 
it  all,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  all  the  divisions 
impossible  either  of  corruption  or  destruction.  The  fol- 
lowing declarations  show  that  Paul  preached  the  whole 
gospel  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  before  there  was  a 
New  Testament :  "  Wherefore  I  take  you  to  record  this 
day,  that  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the 
counsel  of  God."  (Acts  20,  26,  27.)  "  But  this  I  con- 
fess unto  thee,  that  after  the  way  which  they  call  heresy, 
so  worship  I  the  God  of  my  fathers,  believing  all  things 
which  are  written  in  the  law  and  in  the  prophets  ;  and 
have  hope  toward  God,  that  there  shall  be  a  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  of  the  unjust,"     (Acts 


RELATION   OF    CHRISTIANITY   AND    MAN.      38 1 

26:  22.)  *' Having  therefore  obtained  help  of  God,  I 
continue  unto  this  day,  witnessing  both  to  small  and  great, 
saying  none  other  things  than  Moses  and  the  prophets  did 
say  should  come." 

Upon  what,  then,  let  me  ask,  is  the  gigantic  super- 
structure of  modern  scepticism  founded?  We  answer, 
ignorance"  of  the  book  of  nature,  and  equal  ignorance. 
of  the  written  revelation  of  the  will  of  God  to  man. 
And  to-day,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  we  break  the  spell 
of  its  lying  charms,  and  strip  the  gauzy  drapery  from  the 
shrine  of  the  goddess  of  modern  science  [so  called]  and 
ancient  scepticism ;  and  that,  too,  at  the  very  moment 
of  its  greatest  expected  triumph  ;  thus  not  only  leaving 
Christianity  untarnished  and  unscathed  in  the  conflict, 
but  more  radiant  by  the  accumulation  of  the  testimonies 
of  all  known  science,  philosophy,  and  history,  written 
alike  in  great  nature's  profundity  and  the  hallowed  har- 
monies of  the  book  of  nature's  God — presenting  its  Au- 
thor more  sublimely  enthroned  for  the  contemplation  of 
his  creatures,  as  the  centralized  power,  wisdom,  goodness, 
and  glory  of  his  vast  universe. 

We  now  submit  the  question  whether  every  honest 
sceptic  is  not  bound  to  disprove  all  these  arguments,  or 
put  himself  in  harmony  with  what  they  indicate  ? 

We  close  by  saying  that  we  feel  abundantly  able  to 
brush  away  the  sophistry  from  all  objections  to  these  argu- 
ments, and  to  defend  by  philosophy,  science,  history,  and 
scripture  every  position  we  have  taken,  for  which  our 
allotted  time  may  not  have  afforded  sufficient  oppor- 
tunity. 

We  heartily  thank  the  Freethinkers'  Association  for  the 
courtesy  shown  us,  and  for  the  patient  and  respectful  at- 
tention with  which  the  Convention  has  listened  to  our 
humble  effort  ;  and  may  the  blessing  of  the  great  God, 
my  Maker  and  your  Maker,  rest  upon  you. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

EFFECT    OF    THE    ADDRESS    ON    THE    CONVENTION    AND 
FREETHINKERISM. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  we  were  congratulated,  seem- 
ingly from  all  quarters,  as  having  turned  the  tide  against 
the  Freethinkers.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that, 
during  the  nine  years  which  have  elapsed  since,  they  have 
not  challenged  another  minister  to  meet  them  in  public 
discussion.  On  this  occasion,  though  an  admission  fee 
was  charged,  the  Corinthian  Academy  of  Music  was  filled, 
and  it  was  the  sixth  annual  convention  of  the  Freethinkers. 
We  did  not  commence  our  Address  until  eight  o'clock, 
and  knew  it  would  take  two  hours  and  a  half  in  deliv- 
ery. For  fear  of  not  being  able  to  finish,  we  began  too 
rapidly  to  produce  the  effect  it  might  otherwise  have  done. 
Feeling  this,  we  stopped  abruptly,  and  said  we  are  spoil- 
ing our  lecture  fearing  there  will  not  be  time  to  finish. 
At  this  point  a  gentleman  rose  and  made  a  motion  to  give 
us  all  the  time  we  needed,  which  was  carried  without  a 
dissenting  voice.  This  gave  the  needed  relief,  and  we 
consumed  the  full  two  hours  and  a  half,  and  we  may  add, 
that  none  left  the  hall  until  it  was  finished. 

The  Secretary  of  the  United  States  League  of  Free- 
thinkers said  to  us,  ''  Our  people  have  not  studied  these 
subjects  as  you  have  done,  and  cannot  answer  your  argu- 
ments. He  also  said  that  Mr.  Wakeman  and  Mr.  Palmer 
had  made  about  a  dozen  appointments  to  hold  Free- 
thinker conventions  or  deliver  lectures  in  Western  cities, 
the  next  at  Buffalo,  and  that  he  was  to  accompany  them 
and  make  the  arrangements  ahead.  Thaddeus  B.  Wake- 
man's  Address,  i)urporting  to  be  an  answer  to  ours,  was 
delivered  the  following  evening,  at  the  conclusion  of 
which  the  convTution  voted  us  an  half-hour'to  answer. 


EFFECT  OF   THE   ADDRESS  383 

We  commenced  by  congratulating  the  convention  for 
having  chosen  Mr.  Wakeman,  of  course  in  its  estimation 
the  best  quahfied  to  answer  our  arguments  and  de- 
mohsh  Christianity,  leaving  the  inference  that  if  he 
failed  neither  could  be  done.  As  we  desire  to  know  the 
truth,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  effect  in  exposing  our 
ignorance  and  error,  we  want  the  same  test  applied  to 
this  convention  and  in  this  discussion.  We  are  compelled 
to  say,  that  though  we  followed  Mr.  Wakeman's  speech 
as  closely  as  possible,  we  were  unable  to  discover  that  it 
refuted  or  even  weakened  one  of  our  arguments.  Possibly 
he  may  have  done  this  and  we  failed  to  perceive  it ;  we 
therefore  appealed  to  anyone  in  the  audience  who  heard 
both  addresses  to  rise  in  his  place  and  refer  us  to  any 
such  exposure ;  and  we  paused  to  give  an  opportunity ; 
but  as  there  was  no  response,  we  continued  :  Surely,  it 
cannot  be  that  the  whole  convention  considers  our  argu- 
ments conclusive  in  the  defence  of  Christianity  [and  we 
considered  them  to  be  such]  ;  that  the  Freethinking  talent 
of  the  United  States  and  of  England  here  assembled,  is 
unable  to  find  a  single  objection.  Come,  gentlemen, 
come  up  to  the  confessional  !  Here  we  paused  to  give 
another  opportunity ;  but  still  no  reply  was  made,  or  a 
word  heard  from  any  of  the  dozen  orators  of  Free 
Thought  who  were  with  us  upon  the  platform.  After  a 
little  longer  time,  a  man  rose  in  the  audience  and  said 
Mr.  Wakeman  said  things  which  were  true,  not  needing 
argument,  and  sat  down.  We  replied.  That  is  beautiful  ! 
Then,  we  are  to  understand  that  the  free  thought  of  Free- 
thinkers requires  no  thought  at  all,  only  free  talk  ;  un- 
founded assertion  to  satisfy  and  confirm  them  in  their 
scepticism.  Who  would  suppose  that  such  men  think  ! 
In  contrast  to  this,  we  receive  no  assertion,  no  opinion, 
coming  from  whatever  source,  even  from  that  of  the 
Bible  itself,  unsupported  by  evidence,  the  result  of 
thought  and  reason.  To  this  effect  its  author  has  is- 
sued this  challenge  to  the  world,  ''  Come,  let  us  reason 
together,  saith  the'  Lord."  We  still  wait  to  give  the 
convention  every  chance  to  extricate  itself  from  the 
meshes  into   which  the  false  theories  of  Freethinkerism 


384      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

have  plunged  it,  and  which  our  arguments  have  made 
manifest. 

In  a  few  moments  another  man  rose  and  said,  "  I  did 
not  hear  Mr.  Mitchell's  address,"  and  intimated  that  had 
he  done  so,  he  could  have  made  fatal  objections  to  it, 
and  sat  down.  We  replied,  That  is  wonderful !  Here  on 
the  platform  are  assembled  the  most  able  representatives 
of  the  infidelity  of  the  civilized  world,  and  not  one  of 
them  is  able  to  rise  in  his  place  and  point  to  a  single  one 
of  our  arguments  as  objectionable,  or  one  which  Mr. 
Wakeman  showed  to  be  inconclusive  in  the  establishment 
of  revealed  Christianity  ;  but  if  this  gentleman  had  heard 
them,  he  would  have  been  abundantly  able  to  have  done 
it.  It  is  a  great  pity  for  the  now  lost  cause  of  Freethink- 
erism  that  he  was  absent !  Here,  however,  is  a  man 
who  is  not  afraid  to  say  something  in  attempting  to 
raise  up  the  fallen  Dagon,  and  this  illustrates  the  fact 
that  ignorance,  as  well  as  knowledge,  gives  confidence, 
while  he  who  has  part  of  both  is  afraid.  [Immense  ap- 
plause.] We  appeal  to  this  audience  whether  the  conclu- 
sion is  not  legitimate,  that  by  their  silence  here  manifest, 
the  Freethinking  talent  of  the  country,  here  assembled, 
have  no  reason,  no  objection,  no  argument  or  evidence 
against  Christianity,  which  to  their  own  satisfaction 
gives  them  confidence  enough  to  rise  before  this  audi- 
ence and  state  it,  either  philosophic,  scientific,  or  bib- 
lical, and  must  we  not  press  the  consideration  demand- 
ed by  the  most  ordinary  regard  for  truth  and  consis- 
tency, that  not  one  of  their  voices  shall  ever  again  be 
heard  protesting  against  its  inspired  and  revealed  system, 
which  cannot  be  done  but  at  the  expense  of  honest 
courage,  and  in  the  absence  of  those,  as  here,  able  to  ex- 
pose the  sophistry  and  ignorance  which  prompt  them. 

And  now  we  have  consumed  more  than  the  time  kindly 
allotted  us  by  the  convention,  and  have  not  considered 
one  of  the  sophistries  which  make  up  Mr.  AVakeman's 
speech.  As  we  turned  to  take  our  seat,  amid  cheers  and 
cries  from  all  parts  of  the  house,  except  the  platform — 
"  Go  on — go  on,"  and  a  vote  was  unanimously  carried, 
giving  us  all  the  time  desired,  and  we  continued  by  say 


EFFECT   OF   THE   ADDRESS  385 

ing,  There  was  one  thing  Mr.  Wakeman  talked  about  at 
great  length,  and  as  it  is  one  lying  at  the  foundation  of 
the  sceptical  science  of  evolution,  though  so  late  we  may 
spend  a  few  moments  upon  it.  This  was  Protoplasm. 
This  substance  is  said  to  be  composed  of  very  little  creat- 
ures, and  these  were  our  ancestors.  It  cannot  be  ques- 
tioned that  if  these  little  fellows  exist,  it  has  been  deter- 
mined by  observation — they  have  been  seen  either  by  the 
naked  eye  or  microscopic  art.  It  is  laid  down  by  all 
logicians  and  mental  philosophers,  as  a  fundamental  prin- 
ciple, that  if  a  thing  is  a  fact  at  all  it  is  a  universal  fact ;  a 
single  exception  proves  it  to  be  no  fact.  There  was  a 
very  learned  lecture  upon  protoplasm  delivered  some  time 
ago,  at  the  Liberal  Club  Rooms,  in  Eighth  Street,  New 
York,  to  which  Mr.  Wakeman  and  myself  listened.  Be- 
fore the  lecturer  concluded  he  undertook  to  answer  the 
objection — why,  if  these  little  creatures  exist  they  have 
not  been  seen,  even  by  the  aid  of  the  microscope — and  as- 
signed as  the  reason  that  each  one  of  them  was  smaller 
than  a  ray  of  light,  which,  therefore,  completely  envelops 
it.  Now,  if  these  little  folks  have  never  been  seen  by  the 
human  eye,  aided  by  the  microscope,  how  does  anybody 
know  they  exist  ?  Of  course  the  ingenious  sophism  was 
to  prevent  its  detection,  which  can  only  result  from  anal- 
ogous reasoning  between  things  known  to  exist,  while  the 
protoplastic  myth  was  not  known  to  exist. 

It  struck  us  at  once  that  the  fraudulent  attempt  to  shut 
off  investigation  upon  the  starting-point  of  the  evolution 
machine,  was  nevertheless  fatal  to  its  existence,  except  as 
false  science ;  for  the  microscope  offers  no  relief,  be- 
cause it  magnifies  the  ray  of  light  equally  with  the  object 
it  covers ;  and  we  thus  knock  the  bottom  out  of  the  evo- 
lution tub,  which  buries  all  the  mythic  speculations  of  the 
protoplastic  foundation  stone  of  evolution.  It  was  now 
eleven  o'clock  and  we  took  our  seat,  but  still  amid  cries 
of  ''  Go  on."  Although  we  make  no  apology  for  being 
found  at  this  meeting  of  the  Liberal  Club  [for  we  would 
not  hesitate  to  go  into  the  very  ante-chamber  of  any  kind 
of  devils,  in  order  to  obtain  facts  with  which  to  cripple 
their  influence  for  further  evil],  we  may,  however,  say 

25 


386      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

that  on  this  occasion  we  had  been  invited  to  lecture  be- 
fore the  club  on  biblical  criticism.  In  order  to  form  an 
estimate  of  the  talent  to  whose  criticisms  we  would  be 
subjected,  we  attended  two  of  the  previous  weekly  meet- 
ings, and  Mr.  Wakeman  will  never  forget  .the  answer  to 
his  criticism  upon  our  lecture,  which  set  the  audience  in 
a  roar  of  api^lause  at  his  expense.  At  the  conclusion  of 
our  reply  to  Mr.  Wakeman 's  speech,  the  convention  also 
voted  him  time  to  reply,  which  he  did  simply  by  saying  : 
"  We  supplied  facts  in  our  address,  leaving  the  audience 
to  supply  the  reasons  ;  it  was  an  intelligent  one  and  needed 
no  further  light."  A  vote  of  thanks  was  given  us,  and  the 
session  adjourned  near  midnight.  We  refer  to  this  ad- 
mission of  Mr.  Wakeman,  as  confirming  our  charge,  that 
he  offered  no  argument,  reason,  or  evidence  against  any- 
thing in  our  address. 


Reply  to  Courtland  Palmer' s  Speech  on  Spiritual  Life. 

That  Mr.  Wakeman  felt  the  weakness  of  his  effort  to 
destroy  the  force  and  influence  of  our  arguments,  is  also 
shown  by  the  fact  of  having  called  Mr.  Palmer  to  his  as- 
sistance, a  part  of  whose  speech  he  anticipated  thus  :  "I 
am  glad  that  before  this  Association  adjourns,  my  friend, 
Courtland  Palmer,  who  has  thought  this  new  world  out 
with  me,  and  whose  poetic  nature  feels  it  clearer,  will  lay 
this  wonderful  story  before  you  in  his  own  words.  He 
will  show  you  that,  just  in  proportion  as  the  integrations 
of  mankind  have  advanced,  the  spiritual  and  altruistic 
life  has  become  more  and  more,  and  that  the  higher  in- 
tegrations will  sur})a.ss  all  others  and  extend  the  glory  of 
spiritual  conceptions  of  every  form."  On  Saturday  even- 
ing Mr.  Palmer  delivered  his  address,  which  abounded  in 
three  high-sounding  phrases — spiritual  life,  religion  of 
humanity,  and  immortality  ;  but  all  of  which  had  their 
realization  in  human  life.  When  Mr.  Palmer  finished  he 
took  his  seat  next  us,  and  we  said  to  him,  ''  Mr.  Palmer, 
that  address  must  have  cost  you  a  great  deal  of  labor  ;  ' ' 
to  which  he  replied,  ''  Oh  !   the  Holy  Ghost  helped  me." 


EFFECT   OF   THE   ADDRESS  38/ 

And  we  responded,  "  Then  the  Holy  Ghost  was  alive  un- 
til he  helped  you  out  !  "  He  looked  chagrined,  but 
made  no  reply.  We  were  sorry  for  not  having  an  oppor- 
tunity of  answering  it,  as  the  convention  was  to  close  on 
Sunday  morning  by  a  lecture  from  Hon.  Elizur  Wright, 
of  Boston,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  talented  Freethink- 
ers of  the  country  ;  for  which  reasons  his  address  was 
given  the  honorable  place  of  closing  the  convention,  and 
was  looked  forward  to  as  a  great  feast. 

On  Sunday  morning  a  very  large  audience  assem- 
bled, and  the  president.  Dr.  Brown,  was  making  some 
remarks  in  relation  to  the  business  matters  of  the  Asso- 
ciation when  we  came  in,  and  no  sooner  had  become 
seated,  than  applause  began  and  cries  from  the  audience 
for  a  speech.  The  president  turned  toward  us,  and 
said,  "  They  want  you  to  speak."  We  rose  and  said, 
"  Please  excuse  us  ;  we  came  to  hear  Mr.  Wright.  Let 
us  hear  him."  But  this  only  increased  the  cries  for 
a  speech.  The  president  said  again,  "  You  will  be 
obhged  to  speak."  So,  as  we  advanced  toward  the  front 
of  the  platform,  it  came  to  us  like  an  inspiration  to  ex- 
pose the  atheism  of  Palmer's  speech,  and  we  were  almost 
overjoyed  at  having  the  opportunity  ;  so,  when  the  ap- 
plause had  subsided,  we  commenced  by  saying  :  ''Most 
of  us  listened  to  Mr.  Palmer's  lecture  last  evening,  and 
although  it  was  a  very  labored  and  beautiful  composition, 
I  noticed  that  it  called  forth  but  little  applause.  One 
reason  to  our  mind  for  this  was  that  the  audience  thought 
it  too  religious,  by  its  frequent  expressions  of  the  religion 
of  humanity,  the  higher  spiritual  life,  and  that  of  immor- 
tality, which  men  should  seek  after.  But  there  was  one 
objection  we  thought  we  discovered  while  it  was  being 
delivered,  and  which  we  would  be  glad  to  make  before 
you  if  an  opportunity  presented  itself,  and  which  you 
have  now  most  unexpectedly  given.  The  objection  to 
which  we  allude  is  that  it  was  atheism  from  beginning  to 
end."  This  remark  created  a  stir,  but  no  voice  of  dis- 
approval was  heard.  Mr.  Palmer  talked  fluently  about 
immortality,  but  made  it  consist  in  great  achievements  of 
individuals  in  the  present  life  by  which  they  would  be 


388      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

remembered  in  coming  generations ;  but  it  began  with 
human  hfe  and  ended  with  it,  so  far  as  they  were  con- 
cerned. No  matter  how  renowned  or  long  the  applause 
of  the  living,  no  sound  could  awaken  the  dull,  cold  ear  of 
the  dead  to  its  appreciation.  Had  we  time,  we  might 
present  an  unanswerable  argument  from  the  philosophy  of 
human  action  to  disprove  such  a  theory,  which  supposes 
a  man  capable  of  acting  without  an  adequate  motive — one 
which  would  in  some  way  and  at  some  future  time  ad- 
minister to  his  interest  and  happiness,  which,  in  the  nat- 
ure of  moral  and  physical  philosophy,  is  impossible  for 
the  remembrance  immortality  to  accomplish. 

But  let  us  endeavor  to  illustrate  the  fallacious  theory. 
Some  are  remembered  by  the  living  for  their  good  deeds, 
and  others  detested  for  their  bad  ones,  and  there  are 
more  of  the  great  deeds  of  the  wicked,  who  have  o])- 
pressed  the  poor  and  trampled  upon  the  rights  of  man- 
kind, remembered  and  detested  than  of  those  of  the 
righteous  dead.  What  satisfaction  would  it  be  to  a_dead 
man,  supposing  him  capable  of  appreciating  what  may  be 
said  of  him  when  he  was  dead,  which  atheism  denies  and 
which  Mr.  Palmer's  immortality  denies?  On  the  one 
hand  he  knows  that  the  living  are  pouring  contempt 
upon  the  great  deeds  of  his  life,  and  for  the  same  acts 
others  are  awarding  him  honor  and  praise.  In  common 
life,  can  a  man  be  happy  as  long  as  half  of  those  who 
know  him  curse  him  for  the  deeds  of  his  life  which 
have,  or  are  supposed  to  have,  made  them  suffer  ? 

For  example  :  A  Washington  may  be  receiving  the  im- 
mortality for  having  acted  the  most  conspicuous  part  in 
wresting  the  American  Colonies  from  the  government  of 
England,  while  King  George  is  receiving  the  immortal- 
ity for  having  put  a  price  upon  his  head,  as  a  traitor  to 
his  country.  You  have  heard  of  Julius  Caesar  and  Bru- 
tus, who,  by  their  deeds  have  the  remembrance  immor- 
tality for  which  Mr.  Palmer  contends,  and  for  which  we 
should  strive  in  the  present  life  : 

"They  waded  through  slaughter  to  a  throne, 
Ancl  shut  tlie  gates  of  mercy  on  mankind." 


EFFECT   OF   THE   ADDRESS.  389 

According  to  evolution  by  natural  selection,  their  immor- 
tality should  have  developed  in  steadily  increasing  honors 
through  all  succeeding  ages  ;  instead  of  which  their  very 
names  have  degenerated  to  the  use  of  canine  symbols — 
Caesar  is  a  dog  and  Brutus  keeps  sheep.  Do  you  want 
such  immortality  as  that  ?  Audible  responses  were  made, 
No,  no. 

You  have  also  heard  of  Dr.  Franklin,  who  had  the 
remembrance  immortality  in  a  very  high  degree ;  but 
would  it  be  any  honor  to  him  to  know  that  in  every  city 
his  name  has  degenerated  to  be  a  sign  for  liquor  saloons 
— The  Franklin  House  ?  Would  it  be  any  compensation 
for  you  to  labor  and  sacrifice  in  the  present  life  to  have 
your  name  used  for  such  a  purpose  after  you  were  dead  ? 
Voices  responded — No,  no  !  Well,  this  is  all  Mr.  Palmer's 
address  offered  you  after  death  !  Is  such  an  immortality 
worthy  of  your  life-long  effort?  Again  responses  came 
from  the  audience — No,  no.  Better  say  with  Paul,  ''If 
in  this  life  only  we  have  hope,  then  we  are  of  all  men 
most  miserable."  At  this  point,  Mr.  Palmer  rose  and 
said,  ''Mr.  Chairman,  has  not  the  time  arrived  for  the 
regular  lecture  ?  "  To  this  we  replied  before  the  presi- 
dent could  speak,  "  Yes  !  but  the  audience  compel  us  to 
speak."  And  "Yes,"  responded  the  president,  "but 
what  can  I  do,  only  to  wait  for  Mr.  Mitchell  to  get 
through."  To  which  we  responded  :  "Do  you  think  we 
shall  become  exhausted?"  "No,"  he  replied,  "but 
that  the  audience  will  hear  Mr.  Wright."  During  this 
interruption  the  audience  were  applauding  and  cheering, 
amid  cries  of  Go  on — go  on,  which  we  did  as  soon  as 
the  applause  ceased  and  said  :  ' '  These  are  the  men  who 
have  made  their  mark  in  the  history  of  the  world ;  but 
what  hope,  even  of  such  immortality,  is  there  for  such 
little  folks  as  you  and  I  ?  Alas  for  us  !  we  shall  always 
remain  mortal  and  be  forgotten  in  a  brief  space  after  we 
are  dead  !  According  to  our  observation  [we  continued] 
based  upon  the  developments  before  us,  there  are  but  a 
very  few  real  atheists.  To  become  such  requires  a  long 
stifling  of  reason  and  servile  subjugation  of  the  noble 
powers  of  mind  and  heart  to  the  low  passions  and  desires 


390      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

to  have  it  so  ;  and  an  obliteration  of  every  vestige  of  fut- 
ure hope.  It  is  the  philosophy  of  hope  that  encourages 
us  to  bear  the  ills  and  disappointments  of  life,  and  endure 
the  heart-sickness  of  hope  deferred  for  the  long  life  of  three 
score  and  ten  years  ;  but  the  sufferer  will  not  despair  so 
long  as  he  hopes  for  future  life — the  true  immortality  ; 
but  blot  hope  from  his  mind  and  fear  goes  with  it,  and 
the  crazed  victim  flies  to  suicide  !  Without  hope  a 
man  cannot  be  held  long  in  the  human  furnace  of  afflic- 
tion. 

In  philosophic  necessity  and  scientific  harmony  with 
this  mental  endowment,  Christianity  offers  a  man  a  resur- 
rection from  the  dead,  which  is  equivalent  to  a  re-crea- 
tion ;  and  can  it  be  questioned  that  the  Being  who  made 
him  live  once,  is  able  to  make  him  live  a  second  time? 
The  proposition  is  not  to  reduce,  and  leave  a  man  a  ghost, 
a  thousand  of  whom  can  stand  upon  the  })oint  of  a  needle 
and  all  the  room  be  left  ;  but  to  rej^roduce  the  man  him- 
self— his  vital  organism —  his  moral,  phrenological  brain, 
upon  whose  tablets  every  event  of  his  history  stands  i)hoto- 
graphed,  by  which  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  remember 
and  become  identified  with  himself.  But  gravity  renders 
it  impossible  for  such  a  man  to  live  in  an  ethereal  ghost- 
house  forever,  and  therefore  the  same  Being  who  created 
the  world  has  revealed  his  purpose  to  re-create  it  into  one 
of  perfection  and  endless  duration,  thus  adapting  it  to  a 
suitable  habitation  for  man — all  immortal,  soul,  body, 
and  spirit.  Atheism  is  the  antithesis  of  this  glowing 
prospect — the  Christian's  future  hope.  Its  victims  die 
like  the  beasts,  and  remain  dead  forever.  No  ray  of  hope 
illumines  the  grave  of  its  loved  ones.  The  interest  you 
have  manifested  in  calling  us  to  speak  in  the  place  of 
others — a  stranger  in  the  place  of  admired  friends — and 
the  applause  with  which  we  have  been  greeted,  for  which 
we  return  our  ])ersonal  acknowledgments,  convince  us 
that  it  has  been  because  of  what  we  have  said  in  brushing 
away  the  cobwebs  of  atheism  from  your  minds  and  hearts. 
This  truth  has  drawn  out  the  numerous  expressions  of 
gratefiil  approval,  and  convinces  us  that  no  sceptical  delu- 
sion will  ever  be  able  to  draw  many  of  you  back  into  its 


EFFECT  OF  THE   ADDRESS.  39I 

ruinous  embrace  !     Here  we  took  our  seat ;  but  still  amid 
cries  of  Go  on  ! 

Hon.  Elizur  Wright  was  then  introduced  and  gave  his 
lecture  on  Miracles,  which  was  received  almost  without 
applause.  Feeling  this,  the  lecturer  hurried  through, 
turning  over  a  half-dozen  pages  at  a  time.  It  was  evident 
that  something  had  been  done  to  quiet  the  enthusiam  of 
the  convention  for  atheism.  After  the  audience  was  dis- 
missed the  reporter  of  the  New  York  Herald  came  to  us 
and  said,  ''Your  exposure  of  Mr.  Palmer's  speech  was 
more  than  he  could  bear,  as  his  attempt  to  prevent  you 
from  going  on  showed. ' '  Dr.  Brown,  president  of  the  con- 
vention, said  to  us,  "I  will  never  attend  another  Free- 
thinkers' convention,  unless  you  are  there,"  and  expressed 
a  strong  desire  to  converse  with  us.  Mr.  Charles  Watts 
of  London,  editor  of  the  Secular  Press,  the  organ  of  the 
Freethinkers,  congratulated  us,  and  in  a  manner  indicat- 
ing approval  of  our  efforts  at  the  convention.  In  reply 
we  said,  Mr.  Watts,  we  have  one  more  important  act  to 
perform  in  this  direction,  and  one  which  we  think  you 
can  bring  about,  and  that  is  a  public  debate  in  London 
between  Hon.  Charles  Bradlaugh  and  myself,  where  we 
will  go  at  our  own  expense  for  the  purpose :  occupying 
the  same  platform  an  equal  part  of  the  time  each  evening, 
until  one  of  the  parties  succumbs.  If  you  will  do  this  it 
will  confer  a  great  personal  favor  upon  us,  and  aid  in 
spreading  light  upon  these  all-important  subjects.  In  re- 
ply he  proinised  to  try  and  bring  it  about ;  but  we  have 
heard  nothing  more  about  the  challenge.  At  the  hotel 
the  Secretary  of  the  National  League  of  Freethinkers  said 
to  us,  "  I  have  just  returned  from  Buffalo  and  in  great  haste 
to  see  you  before  starting  for  Brooklyn,"  assigning  as  a 
reason  that  he  had  been  to  Buffalo,  and  that  their  friends 
said  the  people  of  Buffalo,  having  read  the  reports  of  the 
debate  at  Rochester — which  they  considered  unfavorable 
to  the  Freethinkers — it  would  be  impossible  to  get  an 
audience  in  the  city  to  hear  Wakeman  and  Palmer ;  that 
there  was  but  one  thing  which  could  be  done,  and  that 
was  to  induce  Mr.  Mitchell  to  come  to  Buffalo  and  give 
him  half  the  time  to  answer  Wakeman  in  public  debate; 


392      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

and  the  question  is,  "  will  you  go,  and  we  will  pay  you  all 
your  expenses,"  to  which  we  unhesitatingly  consented. 

The  discussion  at  Buffalo  was  in  the  theatre,  and  there 
was  a  large  audience  assembled,  at  fifty  cents  admission. 
Mr.  Wakeman  and  myself  sat  behind  the  scenery,  and 
just  before  commencing  the  debate,  he  said  to  us,  '^  Mr. 
Palmer  has  gone  home  and  left  me  alone  ;  ' '  and  we  may 
add  the  fact  that  the  next  day  Mr.  Wakeman  also  went 
home,  leaving  the  dozen  Freethinkers'  conventions  en- 
gaged to  be  held  in  Western  and  Southern  cities,  unheld 
that  year.  Wakeman  and  Palmer  knew  that  the  people 
of  those  cities  had  seen  the  newspaper  reports  of  their 
failure  .at  Rochester  and  Buffalo,  and  they  went  home  de- 
moralized. The  conditions  of  the  debate  at  Buffalo,  as 
advertised,  was  that  Mr.  Wakeman  was  to  speak  the  first 
hour,  beginning  at  eight  o'clock,  and  we  the  following 
hour.  Notwithstanding  this,  Mr.  Wakeman  continued 
his  speech  until  near  ten  o'clock,  though  some  time  before 
he  closed,  we  audibly  asked,  why  do  you  intrench  upon 
our  time,  to  which  he  replied,  ''I  am  going  to  speak  until 
I  get  through."  And  we  may  add  that  there  was  no  ap- 
plause during  his  whole  speech,  which  was  simply  a  re- 
hash of  Herbert  Spencer's  speculations  on  protoplasm. 
We  began  by  saying,  you  saw  how  Mr.  Wakeman  at- 
tempted to  intimidate  us  by  exalting  Spencer  to  such  an 
altitude  in  the  literary  world,  that,  as  he  said,  no  man 
dare  question  his  conclusions.  He  has  not  only  wrong- 
fully taken  our  time,  but  endeavored  to  make  it  appear 
presumption  in  us  to  question  the  authority  of  Spencer. 
Of  course,  this  was  his  only  hope  to  impose  atheistic 
schemes  upon  you  for  truth — to  prevent  us  from  speaking 
at  all,  and  if  we  did  speak,  to  not  call  in  question  the  au- 
thority of  his  master  Spencer.  In  view  of  the  lateness  of 
the  hour  we  simply  rise  to  make  an  apology  for  not  at- 
tempting to  make  a  speech.  These  remarks  called  forth 
loud  applause  from  all  parts  of  the  house,  mingled  with 
cries  of  Go  on,  go  on  !  and  we  continued  :  We  need 
scarcely  say,  that  the  course  of  Mr.  Wakeman,  in  thus 
violating  the  rules  of  honest  debate,  had  the  effect  of 
arousing  our  indignation  to   a   degree   that    relieved  us 


EFFECT   OF  THE   ADDRESS.  393 

from  care  to  use  smooth  words  toward  a  man  who  had 
no  more  respect  for  himself  or  a  piibHc  audience  who  had 
paid  to  hear  a  debate.  It  also  had  the  effect  of  relieving 
us  from  undue  leniency  in  handhng  Spencer's  atheistic 
science. 

We  continued  by  saying  :  You  have  listened  to  a  long, 
and  as  we  judge,  a  wearisome  rehash  of  Herbert  Spencer. 
Mr.  Wakeman  said :  No  conceivable  God  is  imagined 
back  of  this  order  of  nature,  as  Mr.  Spencer  has  shown, 
and  is  thinkable  to  us ;  but  all  was  unmixed  with  an  idea 
of  his  own.  He  was,  however,  original  in  his  furious  at- 
tempt to  terrify  us  away  from  calling  in  question  the 
foolish  protoplasm  speculation  of  so  great  an  authority  as 
Herbert  Spencer ;  but  we  appeal  to  the  audience  if  such 
an  effort  does  not  come  with  an  ill  grace  and  imperti- 
nence from  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Wakeman,  who  has  here, 
to-night,  called  in  question  the  authority  of  God  Almighty 
and  even  denied  his  very  existence.  [Loud  and  con- 
tinued applause.]  Mr.  Wakeman' s  long  speech  is  a  true 
type  of  his  master's  long  written  volumes,  in  which  he 
asserts  everything  and  proves  nothing.  Spencer  starts 
with  the  sophistical  statement,  that  every  truth  has  some 
error  mixed  with  it.  In  saying  this,  if  he  is  honest,  Spen- 
cer admits  his  inability  to  discover  and  draw  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  truth  and  error,  or  else  dishonestly 
attempts  to  hide  it,  so  as  to  make  his  books  appear  as 
truthful  as  others.  The  fact,  however,  is  that  truth  and 
error  are  as  eternal  opposites,  as  light  and  darkness,  and 
the  effect  of  the  darkness  is  to  prevent  the  light  from 
being  seen,  just  as  error  hides  the  light  of  truth.  But  in 
his  superficial  reasoning,  Spencer  adds  book  after  book, 
sophism  after  sophism,  assertion  upon  assertion,  in  vain 
attempts  to  make  the  foolish  myth  of  protoplasm, 
which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  evolution,  appear  to  be 
scientific  truth ;  and  he  has  the  audacity  to  declare  spon- 
taneous generation  to  be  science ;  and  Mr.  Wakeman 
echoes  the  presumption,  and  refers  you  to  Prof  Haeckel 
as  authority,  making  this  author  state  as  a  fact  of  science 
that  for  which  he  himself  declares  there  is  no  evidence  in 
its  defence.    In  his  ''  History  of  Creation  "  Haeckel  says  : 


394      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

"Though  spontaneous  generation  is  a  pure  hypothesis, 
never  having  been  observed,  or  proved  by  observation  or 
experiment,  yet  it  is  essential  to  the  non-miraculous  ori- 
gin of  living  things."  Thus  does  Mr.  Wakeman  come 
here  and,  either  ignorantly  or  dishonestly,  misquote  the 
writers  on  evolution,  of  course  presuming  upon  your  ig- 
norance, and  upon  such  false  attempts  to  set  aside  the 
philosophic  necessity  for  a  miraculous  creation  of  living 
things.  We  make  the  assertion,  and  hold  ourselves  able 
to  defend  it  by  every  source  of  human  knowledge,  that 
there  never  was  an  author  who  wrote  upon  the  problems 
of  natural  science,  whose  works  contain  so  much  error  as 
those  of  Herbert  Spencer,  not  excepting  Thomas  Paine  I 

We  had  so  completely  demolished  the  theory  of  proto- 
plasm in  the  debate  at  Rochester,  that  we  are  astonished 
at  the  presumption  of  Mr.  Wakeman  in  repeating  the 
foolish  thing  here ;  but  as  it  is  the  only  leg  upon  which 
evolution  can  stand,  though  amputated  in  one  place,  its 
defenders  go  to  another  and  declare  it  to  be  a  good, 
healthy,  and  true  leg  still.  Nothing  is  clearer  than  that 
such  men  both  fear  and  hate  the  truth,  whether  revealed 
in  philosophical  science,  the  work  of  God,  or  in  his 
written  Word.  You  recollect  how  Mr.  Wakeman  told 
you  to  look  up  and  behold  the  blue  sky,  and  that  this  Avas 
protoplasm.  Such  sayings  are  those  upon  which  the 
false  science  called  evolution  is  based,  such  fanciful 
flights  are  its  facts.  According  to  this  instruction,  if  you 
wish  to  experiment  in  order  to  satisfy  yourself  as  to  the 
truth  of  the  science,  take  a  peck  measure  and  ascend  high 
enough  above  the  earth's  surface  to  get  it  full  of  blue  sky, 
and  then  ask  yourself  what  have  I  got,  and  the  answer 
will  be — a  peck  of  my  protoplastic  ancestors — a  peck  of 
my  parental  progenitors  !  What  do  you  think  of  our 
orator's  profound  arguments  and  repeated  facts  of  modern 
science  ?  As  soon  as  the  applause  had  ceased,  we  said, 
Take  another  example  of  the  wonderful  protoplastic  reve- 
lation, and  one  which  has  more  pali)ability  than  the  sky- 
blue  phenomenon  :  Do  you  see  that  s\vam[),  to  which 
Mr.  Wakeman  referred  you,  and  if  you  wish  to  demon- 
strate the  truth  of   the  science  of  evolution,  go  there  and 


EFFECT  OF  THE  ADDRESS.  395 

measure  up  an  exact  quart  of  its  stagnant  water,  and  you 
have  a  quart  of  our  fathers  and  mothers.  This  gives  us 
an  insight  into  the  magnificent  science  of  evohition, 
which,  Mr.  Wakeman  says,  has  come  to  take  the  place  of 
all  natural  science.  Behold  !  what  a  thing  to  be  of  suf- 
ficient power  to  shut  God  out  of  his  universe  !  Here  we 
took  our  seat ;  but  still  amid  cries  of  Go  on,  though  it  was 
now  eleven  o'clock.  We  may  remark  that  the  whole  of 
our  speech  was  received  with  every  mark  of  interest,  and 
even  enthusiasm.  Such  was  the  satisfaction  we  had  for 
going  to  Buffalo. 

Ifigersoll    Challenged  to  Public  Debate,  atid  Refused. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  the  year  of  this  convention  that 
Freethinkerism  was  at  its  zenith  in  the  United  States,  and 
at  which  time  we  went  to  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  chal- 
lenged Robert  G.  Ingersoll  to  a  public  discussion  in  that 
city,  and  at  his  own  home.  The  topics  were  to  be  those 
of  his  sceptical  lectures.  The  challenge  was  published 
in  the  Washington  Republican,  requesting  him  to  answer 
through  that  paper.  The  conditions  were  that  he  and  I 
were  to  speak  alternately  each  night,  and  from  the  same 
platform,  equally  dividing  the  time,  and  to  continue  the 
discussion  until  one  of  the  parties  was  vanquished.  We 
waited  in  the  city  a  week  for  a  reply,  but  none  was 
made.  Not  willing  to  let  Ingersoll  off  in  this  way,  we 
went  to  his  residence,  and  found  him  in  his  parlor  with 
two  friends.  After  introducing  myself,  I  said,  '^  Did  you 
see  the  challenge  in  the  paper  for  a  discussion  ?  "  to  which 
he  replied  that  he  had,  and  added,  ''Why  did  you  not 
come  to  me  privately?  "  I  said,  "  Did  you  not  make  a 
general  challenge  in  your  answer  to  Dr.  Talmage,  in  the 
words  :  '  No  minister  dare  meet  me  in  public  discussion.' 
This  is  what  we  have  come  to  accept,  and  our  object  in 
doing  it  through  the  press  was  to  bring  public  opinion  to 
bear,  making  it  more  likely  for  you  to  accept."  "  Well, 
what  do  you  want  me  to  do?  "  I  replied,  ''  Consent  to 
hold  the  discussion."  He  said,  "  The  platform  is  open 
to  you  as  well  as  me."      "  Yes,  but  the  same  persons  who 


396      CONFLICT   OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

hear  you  will  not  generally  hear  me ;  and  in  this  manner 
they  will  hear  both  sides  of  every  question  and  be  pre- 
pared to  judge  upon  which  side  lies  the  truth. ' '  After  a 
Httle  hesitation  he  said,  ''Well,  I  will  not  do  that."  I 
asked,  ''  Why  will  you  not ;  have  you  not  got  the  time  ?  " 
''  Oh,  yes,  I  have  plenty  of  time  ;  but  I  will  not  do  that," 
and  he  assigned  no  reason  for  refusing. 

At  this  point  he  commenced  his  cunning  tactics  of  mak- 
ing ministers  appear  ridiculous  by  asking  questions  and 
playing  upon  the  replies,  as  subject  matter  for  his  public 
lectures,  in  order  to  make  fools  laugh  and  get  their  money, 
as  is  his  common  practice.  So  he  said,  ^'  I  suppose  you 
have  come  to  save  my  soul  ?  "  to  which  I  replied  :  ''  Well, 
I  would  like  well  enough  to  be  the  means  of  that ;  but 
your  soul  is  not  worth  much ;  what  we  want  to  do  is  to 
save  the  thousands  of  souls  you  have  poisoned  !  ' '  This 
put  an  end  to  his  efforts  in  that  direction,  and  more  than 
ever  confirmed  the  opinion  that  Ingersoll  ranks  among  the 
lowest  braggarts  of  the  scoffing  world,  and  with  an  increas- 
ing disgust  for  the  man  we  left  him.  The  year  before  we 
had  published  a  book  entitled  ''  Cosmogony,"  concerning 
which  the  press  of  the  country  had  said  many  good  things, 
generally  admitting  that  the  arguments  wrest  natural  sci- 
ence from  the  hands  of  the  sceptic,  and  turns  its  powerful 
weapons  against  him,  by  demonstrating  evolution  to  be 
false  science,  as  well  as  the  claim  of  geology,  making  the 
world  older  than  the  statements  of  Genesis  show  it  to  be. 
From  its  notice  in  the  sceptical  press,  we  could  not  but 
infer  that  Ingersoll  had  read  the  book,  and  we  entertain 
the  opinion  that  no  man  can  do  this  and  then  be  induced 
to  hold  a  public  discussion  with  its  author,  whether  his 
atheism  masquerades  under  the  deceptive  color  of  a  sci- 
entist, or  as  a  more  honest  and  openly  avowed  atheist. 
We  were  sure  of  accomplishing  one  of  two  things  by  thus 
challenging  Ingersoll.  First,  if  the  great  scoffer  accepted 
and  the  debate  was  held,  it  would  have  left  him  paralyzed 
for  future  harm  in  the  field  of  infidelity.  Secondly,  if  he 
refused,  that  would  be  published  throughout  the  country, 
and  it  would  be  nearly  as  effectual  in  destroying  his  influ- 
ence for  evil.      The  result  was  that  the  secular  and  relig- 


EFFECT   OF   THE   ADDRESS.  397 

ious  press,  as  well  as  that  of  the  sceptics,  did  publish  it. 
Even  The  Truth  did  this,  and  headed  its  article,  ''  Inger- 
soll  Challenged  to  Public  Discussion  in  His  Own  City, 
and  Backs  down."  This  was  nine  years  ago,  and  who 
has  heard  of  Ingersoll  lecturing  since  upon  his  sceptical 
themes,  especially  until  very  late  ?  And  we  wish  here  to 
say,  that  the  challenge  remains  the  same  for  his  accept- 
ance, or  for  that  of  any  other  sceptic  or  opponent  of  the 
Bible. 

At  the  request  of  a  number  of  clergymen  of  Washing- 
ton, we  wrote  the  account  of  the  interview  with  Inger- 
soll, and  asked  the  editor  of  the  Republican  to  publish  it, 
which  he  said  he  would  be  glad  to  do.  The  article  closed 
by  saying:  ''It  is  beHeved  by  many  that  Ingersoll  is  a 
sincere  seeker  after  truth.  If  he  is,  why  did  he  not  accept 
this  challenge,  so  that  both  sides  of  the  questions  of  the 
subjects  of  his  public  lectures  might  be  heard  by  the  same 
audiences  ?  This  refusal  shows  him  to  be  conscious  of 
his  inability  to  defend  the  attacks  he  makes  upon  God 
and  the  Bible,  and  that  he  is  a  moral  and  intellectual 
coward,  engaged  in  a  dastardly  crusade  of  slandering  God 
and  his  laws  against  evil,  and  that  too  for  the  love  of 
money — the  worship  of  his  mammon-god — the  World." 

Up  to  this  time  The  Washington  Republican,  the  most 
popular  paper  in  the  city,  every  few  days  published  a 
reported  interview  with  Ingersoll ;  these  reports  were 
copied  by  the  press  of  the  country,  which  became  its  most 
popular  reading,  especially  by  the  young  men.  But  after 
this  cowardly  refusal  to  hold  a  public  discussion  with  the 
first  minister  who  had  accepted  his  public-defiant  chal- 
lenge, the  conductors  of  the  paper  ceased  to  publish  In- 
gersollism,  in  consequence  of  which  the  voice  and  pen  of 
the  arch  scoffer  for  future  evil  was  as  dumb  as  a  sphinx  ! 


COSMOGONY. 

Cosinoj^onv's  ''  Critic. 


"'<b' 


To  THE  Editor  of  the  Merchant  and  Manufacturer  : 

In  your  issue  of  September  23d,  I  find  an  article  criticis- 
ing my  book  '*  Cosmogony,"  signed  '*  Truth  Seeker," 
to  which,  according  to  the  common  rules  of  journalism,  I 
suppose  you  will  permit  me  to  reply.  I  admire  the  tiom- 
dc  plume,  which  first  struck  my  attention  and  led  me  to 
hope  it  would  be  vindicated  by  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the 
article,  but  I  must  say  that  this  expectation  was  not  very 
satisfactorily  realized  ;  but  still  I  thank  the  writer,  in 
these  days  of  ''  sailing  under  false  colors,"  for  his  cour- 
age in  styhng  himself  a  "  Truth  Seeker." 

This  class  of  writers,  especially  upon  the  subject  of 
"  Cosmogony,"  generally  repudiate  all  Scripture  state- 
ments as  authority,  and  demand  the  evidence.  To  this 
we  cheerfiilly  comply,  but  oi)  the  condition  that  we 
equally  repudiate  the  statements  of  all  other  men,  and 
upon  all  other  subjects,  as  aiitlwrity,  and  demand  the  evi- 
dence. What  we  say  to  the  followers  of  Darwin,  Hux- 
ley, Tyndall,  Haeckel,  Lyell,  and  Proctor,  or  any  others, 
is  that,  as  they  refuse  the  grand  embodiment  of  the  wis- 
dom of  God  contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  we  hurl 
back  with  perfect  disdain  the  opinions  of  these  his  creat- 
ures as  authority.  We  desi)ise  your  little  tapers  when 
you  blow  out  our  sun.  So,  gentlemen  critics,  having 
chosen  your  position  and  thus  understanding  ours,  you 
may  easily  see  the  utter  fiitility  of  intimidating  us  by 
quoting  the  opinions  and  definitions  of  those  \<\\o  tliink 
for  you  as  authority  for  us. 

The  history  of  the  past  shows  it  to  be  a  hopeless  task  to 
repeat  the  attempt  to  settle  any  question  of  science,  phi- 
losophy, or  religion  upon  the  mere  principle  of  authority 


COSMOGONY.  399 

or  opinion ;  for  upon  everyone  of  these,  men  of  equal 
natural  and  acquired  talents,  and  furnished  with  the  cult- 
ure of  any  and  every  age,  have  radically  differed.  This 
fact  shuts  us  up  to  the  question  '*  What  is  truth  ?  "  and 
refers  us  to  the  two  great  standards.  Nature  and  Scripture, 
as  alone  containing  the  solution  of  any  of  these  problems, 
and  not  only  indicates  each  man's  right  to  think  for  him- 
self, but  imposes  it  as  a  duty.  Regardless  of  this  princi- 
ple, your  critic  arraigns  us  for  calhng  in  question  Hum- 
boldt's definition  of  Physics,  and  because  it  suits  his 
theory  of  evolution,  he  thinks  it  quite  unbecoming  that 
we  should  doubt.  He  attempts  to  bolster  up  that  given 
by  Webster,  seeming  to  forget  that  Webster  gives  the 
definition  of  words  which  they  have  acquired  by  con- 
ventional usage,  which  has  originated  the  words  and  defi- 
nitions, and  therefore  of  themselves  prove  nothing  and 
settle  no  question  of  natural  science.  In  the  estimation 
of  Webster,  Physics  commenced  with  the  creation,  or  the 
creation  of  the  world  gave  Physics  its  birth,  while  Hum- 
boldt's idea  of  Physics  is  that  the  Universe  brought  her- 
self into  existence  by  the  inherent  properties  of  simple 
vapory  cloud — nebula.  He  says  :  ' '  Among  the  wonder- 
ful things  discovered  by  science  and  art,  by  the  aid  of 
powerful  instruments  scanning  the  regions  of  space,  tve 
see  the  remote  nebulous  mass  resolving  itself  into  worlds 
of  stars."  (''Cosmos,"  i.  20.)  If  "  the  nebulous  mass 
resolves  itself  into  stars,''  of  course  it  leaves  no  work  for 
a  Creator  to  do  in  making  stars.  In  order  to  give  full 
credit  to  this  opinion,  we  must  remember  that  it  is  held 
by  this  same  scientist,  as  well  as  by  all  others  of  the 
modern  school,  that  the  stars  thus  formed  are  suns,  each 
of  which  has  a  planetary  system  like  our  own  solar  system, 
with  its  planets  and  satellites.  Here,  then,  is  the  strong- 
est possible  expression  of  atheistic  materialism,  for  which 
there  is  not  the  least  evidence  in  science.  (''Cosmog- 
ony," p.  4.)  Our  critic  says:  "A  better  definition  of 
Physics  could  hardly  be  given  than  this  of  Humboldt." 
Well,  if  such  an  absurdity  suits  him,  he  is  welcome  to  it, 
but  is  it  modest  to  require  everybody  else  to  adopt  such 
folly? 


400      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Humboldt  says :  *' Laplace  has  given  us  this  nebular 
theory  free  from  all  processes  of  demonstration."  He 
looked  into  space  and  ''saw  the  nebula  forming  itself 
into  worlds  of  stars."  He  gives  us  no  proof  other  than 
his  assertion.  That  this  is  absurd,  Professor  Proctor 
demonstrates  by  the  time  it  consumed — millions  of  years — 
in  the  process  of  forming  our  moon,  the  smallest  and 
nearest  to  us  of  all  the  heavenly  bodies.  Suppose  La- 
place looked  through  the  largest  telescope  in  the  world 
all  his  life  of  three-score  and  ten  years,  could  he  see  the 
YiobuXdi  f on/ling  ifse/f  mto  worlds  of  stars  ?  He  would  be 
obliged  to  look  a  million  of  years  for  the  process  to  have 
advanced  far  enough  to  produce  at  least  a  hundredth  part 
of  the  moon,  to  be  able  to  determine  the  fact.  Even 
then,  how  could  he  know  that  it  was  the  nebula  itself 
doing  the  work,  and  that  it  was  not  moving  and  forming 
by  the  direct  will-power  of  its  Creator? 

By  the  aid  of  the  most  powerful  telescopes  all  that  is 
discernible  upon  the  face  of  the  moon  is  a  roughness  ;  the 
highest  points  or  projections  do  not  appear  to  be  more 
than  an  inch  in  comparison  with  its  whole  disk.  An  in- 
strument would  have  to  be  invented  which  would  magnify 
millions  of  times  more  than  any  we  have  in  order  to  dis- 
cover a  being  the  size  of  a  man  in  the  moon  ;  and  yet 
Laplace  saw  the  nebula — whose  particles  are  so  small  that 
they  can  only  be  observed  by  the  microscope — ''form- 
ing itself  mto  worlds  of  stars,"  and  Humboldt  ])elieves  it 
without  evidence.  It  may  well  be  said  that  it  is  handed 
down  "  free  from  all  processes  of  demonstration,"  and  yet 
the  leading  evolutionists  adopt  the  absurdity  as  the  start- 
ing-point of  their  machine,  and  "  Truth  Seeker  "  thinks 
Humboldt's  definition  of  physics  is  the  best  that  could  be 
given.  It  would  be  more  rational  to  believe  that  the 
moon  is  made  of  green  cheese,  for  in  that  case  it  7luis 
made  and  did  not  make  itself.  The  true  definition  of 
any  natural  phenomena  must  include  not  only  the  agen- 
cies involved,  but  the  prior  existence  of  an  intelligent 
being  who  involved  them,  and  as  all  natural  phenomena 
is  agency,  this  proprietor  must  be  above  her,  and  there- 
fore supernatural. 


COSMOGONY.  401 

^'But/^  remarks  our  critic,  '^what  analogy  is  there 
between  the  functions  of  an  artificial  construction  (a 
steam  engine)  and  a  natural  organism?  The  one  is 
evolved  by  nature  out  of  the  particles  which  compose  the 
things  organized,  and  by  their  properties  ;  the  other  is 
the  result  of  an  extraneous  combination  of  substances  to 
a  definite  end  and  by  the  hand  of  man."  We  are  sur- 
prised that  a  man  could  have  read  ''  Cosmogony,"  and 
then  have  asked  this  question,  wherein  we  have  demon- 
strated by  a  score  of  syllogisms  that  the  solar  system,  as  a 
part  of  the  cosmos,  was  organized  by  the  extraneous 
power  of  God — the  great  artist — endowing  the  particles 
of  nature  with  the  properties  necessary  to  such  organiza- 
tion, just  as  the  machinist  selects  and  prepares  the  ma- 
terial for  the  construction  of  his  steam-engine  :  and  that  the 
materials  of  nature  were  no  more  adapted  to  form  a  plant, 
for  example,  nor  was  nature  capable  of  accomplishing  the 
work,  than  were  the  materials  of  which  the  engine  was 
formed  capable  of  preparing  and  forming  themselves  into 
it.  Do  you  see  the  analogy  ?  If  you  do  not,  it  is  because 
you  are  looking  through  the  foolish  eyes  of  evolution. 

He  says  he  will  condemn  where  he  "  finds  only  vaga- 
ries or  futilities,  or  such  statements  as  he  believes  to  be 
untrue."  Well,  we  say  to  him  that  we  do  not  in  the 
least  fear  his  expressions  of  unbelief  or  denunciation,  and 
esteem  the  condemnations  as  the  best  and  only  substitute 
for  truth  in  the  possession  of  him  who  employs  them. 

In  "  Cosmogony  "  we  undertake  to  prove  by  fact  and 
fair  reasoning  every  position  we  assume,  and  nothing  can 
be  more  unfair  for  a  seeker  after  truth  than  to  quote  our 
positions  and  conclusions  and  give  them  to  the  public, 
leaving  out  our  arguments  in  their  defence. 

He  says  :  "  The  Professor  gives  himself  away  by  say- 
ing of  the  particles  of  matter  :  '  that  they  have  no  intelli- 
gence, and  yet  they  perform  intelhgent  purposes.'  The 
pretence  is  the  veriest  nonsense." 

In  answer  to  this  modest  paragraph,  we  say  that  there 
is  nothing  more  conclusively  proved  in  "■  Cosmogony  " 
than  that  there  is  not  a  particle  of  matter  in  the  universe 
capable  of  acting  by  its  own  self-possessed  qualities,  and 


402      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

that  they  have  not  only  no  intelhgence,  as  this  is  the  re- 
sult of  animal  organization,  but  that  they  must  be  en- 
dowed with  affinities  or  substances  by  an  intelligent 
being,  and  then  they  move  toward  and  combine  with 
each  other,  forming  the  intelligent  purposes  the  Creator 
designed.  In  view  of  this  we  ask  to  whom  belongs  the 
*' veriest  nonsense?"  and  not  only  this,  but  to  whom 
belongs  the  perversion  of  our  views  ? 

He  says  :  ' '  The  Professor  argues  the  existence  of  mat- 
ter at  some  time,  without  qualities  or  properties,  which 
is  a  mere  sophistry."  This  is  another  misrepresentation, 
as  we  have  said  that  the  original  matter  was  cold,  and  its 
particles  had  size,  which  are  proper-ties.  In  relation  to  it 
we  have  agreed  with  Huxley,  from  whose  views  upon 
the  subject  no  intelligent  evolutionist  dissents,  that  the 
original  matter  was  homogeneous — particles  of  the  same 
nature — like  each  other ;  and,  therefore,  that  they  had 
no  chemical  or  electrical  properties,  which,  if  they  had, 
the  matter  would  not  have  been  homogeneous ;  that  this 
endowment  by  the  Creator  gave  birth  to  what  we  call 
the  ''  laws  of  nature,"  so  far  as  atomic  phenomena  are 
concerned.  In  view  of  this  teaching  of  our  book,  we 
ask  our  readers  to  judge  whether  this  is  sophistry,  and 
whether  "  Truth  Seeker  "  does  not  misrepresent  us  ? 

He  finds  us  tripping  ourselves  up  again  by  denying 
that  names  of  things  are  a  part  of  the  knowledge  of  natu- 
ral science.  He  says:  "■  Names  are  given  as  si)ecial  ex- 
ponents of  the  nature  of  the  objects  upon  which  they  are 
bestowed.  This  is  the  sense  of  Adam's  naming  the  ani- 
mals, as  the  roots  of  the  words  employed,  taken  in  their 
innate  and  symbolical  import,  most  clearly  prove." 
That  the  names  Adam  gave  the  animals  indicate  their 
peculiar  disposition,  is  assuming  that  which  the  history 
does  not  warrant,  and  we  supi)ose  that,  had  Adam  named 
a  lamb  a  lion,  the  lamb  would  have  always  been  the 
symbol  of  fierceness  and  power  ;  and  likewise,  had  the 
lion  been  called  the  lamb,  it  would  ever  afterward  have 
been  the  symbol  of  harmless  meekness.  He  says  :  *'  Web- 
ster puts  the  misconception  at  an  end  by  giving  a  list  of 
the  principal  names  of  the  persons  in  the  Old  Testament, 


COSMOGONY.  403 

when  taken  with  the  meaning  or  signification  of  the 
words  in  their  original  languages."  In  answer  to  this 
we  say  that  these  persons  were  generally  named  because 
of  some  peculiar  circumstance  attending  their  birth,  and 
not  to  designate  their  natural  disposition,  features,  or 
color.  We  said  in  "Cosmogony"  that  a  man  might 
memorize  the  name  of  every  object  in  the  universe,  and 
not  understand  the  natural  science  or  philosophy  of  any 
one  of  them,  and  this  fact  demonstrates  our  position, 
which  "  Truth  Seeker  "  should  have  stated  and  then  re- 
futed to  make  out  his  case. 

He  says  further  :  ' '  The  acumen  of  Professor  Mitchell 
is  further  tested  by  his  unguardedly  saying :  '  In  the  year 
248  B.C.  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  founded  a  library  at  Alex- 
andria of  700,000  volumes,  which  was  totally  destroyed 
by  the  Saracens,  by  the  command  of  Omar,  a.d.  642. 
A  second  was  founded  by  Ptolemy's  successors  of  400,- 
000  valuable  books  in  manuscript,  which  was  nearly  de- 
stroyed when  Julius  Caesar  set  fire  to  Alexandria,  47 
B.C.'  "  We  did  not  suppose  any  man  was  so  deficient  in 
intellectual  comprehension  as  to  charge  us  with  being  the 
author  of  these  historic  facts  and  figures.  We  will  refer 
our  learned  friend  to  Blair's  ''  History  and  Dictionary  of 
Dates,  or  World's  Progress,"  p.  395,  where  he  will  find 
the  exact  words  and  figures.  Our  acumen  is  best  tested 
by  what  we  have  written  as  author,  and  not  by  what  we 
have  quoted  from  others.  But  it  is  not  strange  that  the 
mental  vision  of  this  evolutionist,  like  that  of  all  the  rest, 
should  be  so  mixed  up  with  myths,  secret  sciences,  and 
occult  mysteries,  that  he  should  fail  to  discern  between 
these  and  the  substantial  facts  of  history  and  science. 

When  our  "Truth  Seeker  "  shall  give  the  public  more 
of  our  weak  points,  if  the  article  comes  under  our  obser- 
vation we  shall  try  to  find  time  to  attend  to  him.  We 
are  aware  that  we  have  a  great  work  on  hand  in  demol- 
ishing atheistic  evolution,  but  its  defenders  have  a  greater 
in  making  the  legless,  crutchless  thing  stand  before  the 
common  sense  and  common  reason  of  the  world. 

Thos.   Mitchell. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


404      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 


Professor  Mitchell  conies  Back  at  His  Assailant. 

To  THE  Editor  of  the  Merchant  and  Manufacturer  : 
The  mail  which  brought  iis  your  issue  of  November 
4th,  containing  ''Truth  Seeker's"  rejoinder,  also  deliv- 
ered us  a  letter  from  the  editor  of  the  Detroit  Evening 
News,  apologizing  for  delay  in  publishing  a  review  of 
"  Cosmogony,"  and  promising  a  column  in  a  few  days. 
In  the  letter  he  says  :  ''I  have  been  delighted  with  the 
manner  in  which  you  have  rattled  the  dry  old  scientists 
(?)  about."  It  seemed  quite  coincidental  immediately 
to  read  the  dry,  hollow  article  of  ''  Truth  Seeker."  It 
would  be  no  honor  to  make  such  an  empty  source  as  that 
from  whence  it  emanated  rattle  noisily,  which  a  mere 
breath  of  science  or  philosophy  would  do.  We  were  per- 
fectly aware  that  the  first  effect  of  the  publication  of 
''Cosmogony"  would  be  to  unmask  the  atheists  and 
pantheists  who  have  been  sailing  under  the  colors  of 
scientists,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  this  has  been 
realized.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  the  wise  and  dis- 
creet among  them  have  not  made  public  attacks  ;  but  we 
hope  to  hear  from  them,  and  at  no  distant  day.  Until 
then  we  shall  amuse  ourselves  in  ansAvering  such  chaffy, 
IngersoU  echoes  as  those  which  come  from  "  Truth 
Seeker,"  who,  having  the  confidence  of  ignorance,  sends 
forth  such  effusions  of  pride  and  conceit  to  the  public. 
You  know  the  adage:  "The  prudent  man  foreseeth  the 
evil  and  hideth  himself,  but  the  simple  pass  on  and  are 
punished." 

"  Truth  Seeker  "  says  :  "  There  are  many  indepen- 
dent spirits  in  the  world  that  neither  worship  men  or 
gods,  and  'Truth  Seeker'  is  one  of  them."  We  are 
glad  of  having  comjjelled  this  sceptic  to  acknowledge  his 
infidelity,  so  that  he  can  no  longer  palm  himself  off  on  the 
unwary  as  a  mere  "scientist,"  under  the  jiretence  of 
which  to  inculcate  his  poi.sonous  sentiments.  By  even 
his  suj^erficial  examination  of  "  Cosmogony,"  he  has  be- 
come conscious  that  the  powerful  weapons  of  even  false 
science  have  been   wrested   from   his   hands  by  true  sci- 


COSMOGONY.  405 

ence  ;  then,  as  if  to  bolster  up  his  waning  courage,  he 
makes  the  above  bold  and  defiant  declaration,  that  he 
worships  no  man  nor  god.  Worship  means  to  honor  an- 
other. It  is  a  law  of  mind  that,  if  a  man  conceives  so 
that  he  mentally  admits  there  is  a  being  in  the  universe 
greater  than  himself — call  him  a  man,  angel,  or  god — he 
cannot  avoid  rendering  him  reverence — honor.  He  may 
despise  his  moral  character,  but  reverence  his  intellectual 
greatness.  Indeed,  the  very  conception  of  the  existence 
of  such  a  being  is  worship.  If  he  outwardly  protests  that 
he  does  not  thus  worship,  it  only  shows  him  to  be  a  hypo- 
crite. If,  therefore,  a  man  pays  no  act  of  worship  to  any 
other  being — god,  angel,  or  man — then  in  his  ignorant 
pride  and  conceit  he,  himself,  is  the  greatest  being  in  the 
universe.  Here  we  lift  the  curtain  and  call  on  the  gods, 
angels,  and  men  to  behold  his  honor,  ''Truth  Seeker," 
who,  by  his  own  confession,  "  cannot  be  brought  to  wor- 
ship men  or  gods." 

We  may  also  refer  to  another  self-evident  truth,  namely, 
that  a  man  cannot  write  intelligently  about  that  of  which 
he  knows  nothing;  and  as  ''Truth  Seeker"  does  not 
conceive  of  the  existence  of  a  being  higher  or  greater  than 
himself,  therefore  he  knows  nothing  about  God  ;  hence, 
if  he  writes  or  talks  at  all  upon  the  subject,  it  must  be 
incongruous  twaddle,  and  here  we  introduce  a  speci- 
men : 

"  Everywhere  throughout  the  Bible  the  omnific  or  god- 
power  of  light  is  testified.  Its  potency  is  declared  from 
Genesis  to  Revelation.  The  primum  mobile  of  the  uni- 
verse, it  was  '  the  Spirit  of  God  '  that  moved  upon  the 
waters  of  primal  darkness,  and  it  is  yet  that  power  which 
statedly  rescues  and  redeems  our  planetary  world  from 
Nature's  Womb  of  Chaos.  Can  too  much  be  said  in 
praise  of  light  ?  Our  earth  floats  upon  it  as  a  cork  on 
water,  and  it  is  that  principle  in  nature  which  holds  the 
whole  vast  machinery  of  the  universe  in  equilibrated 
poise.  '  GOD  IS  LIGHT,'  declared  John  ;  '  the  Father 
of  Light,'  affirmed  James  ;  and  '  Jehovah  is  my  Light,' 
proclaimed  David,  adding  elsewhere :  '  Thou  coverest 
thyself  with   Light  as  with  a  garment.'     He,  therefore. 


406      CONFLICT   OF   THE    NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

who  denies  Light  denies  God,  and  his  words  are  but  '  as 
sounding  brass  and  tinkUng  cymbal.'  " 

''  Nebula,  or  light,  is  the  one  primal  source  whence  all 
things  have  sprung — no  substance,  organic  or  inorganic, 
existing  that  is  not  the  incarnation  of  light.  ///  light  we 
live,  we  move,  and  have  our  being,  and  without  it  we  are 
not." 

Being  equally  ignorant  upon  the  subjects  of  life  and 
motion,  his  discourses  bear  the  same  stamp  of  absurdity. 
Here  is  another  specimen  : 

''  Among  other  unphilosophical  dogmas  advanced  by 
him  is  '^  inertia"  as  the  normal  condition  of  matter, 
whereas  the  whole  vast  universe  is  known  to  be  one 
eternal  sea  of  ceaseless  motion — not  a  particle  of  matter 
existincr  therein  that  is  not  in  motion  and  which  has 


ever 


been  in  motion — motion  being  the  life  of  the  whole.  How 
absurd,  very  absurd,  therefore,  to  argue  the  essentiality 
of  an  extraneous  power  to  give  matter  motion  in  order 
that  it  might  possess  life,  when  it  did  not  have  motion 
and  was  always  alive.''' 

*'  The  universe,  whose  circumference  is  everywhere  and 
centre  nowhere,  brought  itself  into  existence,  when  not 
the  first  particle  of  matter,  of  which  it  is  composed,  and 
it  is  ^//matter,  ever  began  to  be,  but  always  was?  " 

Let  us  dissect  this  about  ''Truth  Seeker's"  God, 
Light,  ui)on  which  he  cannot  bestow  too  much  praise, 
and  yet  he  says  he  cannot  be  brought  to  worship  any 
god.  Space  is  the  universe — ^space  is  filled  with  matter 
— every  particle  of  matter  is  in  motion — motion  is  eternal 
— motion  is  life,  therefore  space  is  a  living  animal.  This 
also  :  Matter  is  nebula  ;  nebula  is  light ;  "  light  is  the  pri- 
mal source  whence  all  things  have  sprung."  ''  Source  " 
and  ''sprung  "  mean  something  coming  out  from,  and  in 
this  case  all  things  came  out  from  light.  Coming  out 
from  implies  a  time  when  the  operation  took  place,  and 
therefore  a  time  also  before  it  took  place  :  Now,  as  all 
things  in  nature  and  the  universe  itself,  if  it  is  anything — 
nebula  itself,  if  it  is  anything — matter  itself,  if  it  is  any- 
thing— space  itself,  if  it  is  anything — life  itself,  if  it  is 
anything — sjirung  from  light,  the  primal  ("  first  in  order 


COSMOGONY.  407 

of  time,  original  ")  source,  and  before  this  all  was  primal 
darkness,  light  was  the  God-power,  it  was  the  spirit  of 
God  "  that  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters."  ^'  In 
light  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being,"  and  "  God 
is  Light."  If  this  is  not  sound  orthodoxy  upon  the 
doctrine  of  the  creation  of  all  things,  then  we  do  not  un- 
derstand what  orthodoxy  is.  All  the  matter  of  the  uni- 
verse was  brought  into  existence,  whether  organic  or 
inorganic.  It  did  not  therefore  have  any  existence  be- 
fore this  operation. 

Light  is  the  source  from  whence  all  things  sprung,  and 
light  is  God,  therefore  God  is  the  source  from  whence 
all  things  sprung.  This  was  the  power  that  redeemed 
(delivered  from)  chaos  our  planetary  world  ;  therefore  the 
devout  ' '  Truth  Seeker  ' '  exclaims  :  Praise  God  !  for  he 
is  light,  and  ''in  light  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being." 

''  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the 
earth,  and  the  earth  was  without  form  and  void  ;  and 
darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep.  And  the  spirit 
of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.  And  God 
said,  Let  there  be  light ;  and  there  was  light."  (Gen.  i  : 
I.)     Do  you  see  the  agreement? 

We  do  not  for  a  moment  suppose  that  '^  Truth  Seeker  " 
intended  to  speak  this  truth ;  but  if  a  man  talks  at  all 
about  a  subject  of  which  he  is  ignorant,  he  is  as  likely  to 
speak  truth  as  error.  It  puts  us  in  mind  of  an  instance 
of  a  similar  character  which  happened  a  long  time  ago. 
"  Balak,  king  of  Moab,  hired  Balaam,  a  false  prophet 
(teacher),  to  curse  Israel,  but  God  put  words  of  blessing 
and  truth  into  his  mouth,  which  he  spake  instead." 
''And  God  came  unto  Balaam  at  night,  and  said  unto 
him,  if  the  men  (servants  of  Balak)  come  to  call  thee,  rise 
up  and  go  with  them  ;  but  yet  the  word  which  I  shall  say 
unto  thee,  that  shalt  thou  do."      (Num.  2 2d.) 

"  Nebula,  or  light,"  says  our  philological  and  philo- 
sophical critic,  confounding  the  terms,  which  he  has  not 
the  least  authority  for  doing.  It  would  be  just  as  proper 
to  say  nebula,  or  darkness.  Nebula,  in  its  primary  sense, 
is  thick,  or  mixed,  and  therefore  the  great  chaotic  deep  of 


408      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

matter  out  of  which  God  formed  the  solar  system  and 
what  it  contains.  In  its  closer-defined  modern  phase, 
nebula  means  fog,  cloud,  a  white  spot,  a  slight  opacity  of 
the  corona.  In  astronomy  it  is  a  name  given  to  misty 
appearances  which  are  dimly  seen  among  the  stars,  resem- 
bling fog.  Hence,  instead  of  nebula  being  bright,  or 
light,  it  is  mist,  fog,  cloud,  and  can  only  be  seen  by  be- 
ing illuminated  from  other  bodies.  It  becomes  a  halo  or 
a  luminous  circle  around  the  sun,  moon,  or  stars  in  our 
atmosphere,  by  the  light  shining  on  it  from  those  bodies. 
Nebula  is,  therefore,  a  dark  body,  and  like  any  other 
opaque  substance,  c(5uld  not  be  seen  at  all  except  thus 
illuminated.  Here  we  see,  by  the  light  of  scientific  ob- 
servation, ''  Truth  Seeker's  "  god,  nebula,  light,  quenched 
in  darkness. 

In  the  use  of  this  iconoclastic  club  we  give  our  friend 
the  true  light  of  science,  and  expose  his  bad  use  of  words. 
Had  he  studied  the  facts  of  science,  philosophy  of  nature, 
and  illustrations  ''  Cosmogony  "  contains,  he  would  have 
learned  that  light  is  an  effect  of  friction  in  the  process  of 
decomposition,  setting  on  fire  the  oxygen  all  combustible 
substances  contain,  and  therefore,  instead  of  light  being 
the  foundation  from  whence  all  things  emerged,  its  ex- 
istence depends  upon  destroying  or  consuming  things. 
Hence,  wherever  a  ray  of  light  is  seen,  it  is  the  demon- 
stration that  something  is  burning,  decomposing,  dying — 
exactly  the  reverse  of  its  being  '*  the  creative  force  of  the 
universe,  which  brought  all  things  into  existence."  He 
would  have  learned  that  oxygen  is  the  foundation  of  all 
light.  Make  a  vacuum  of  our  atmosphere,  or  simply  take 
the  oxygen  out  of  it — which  is  only  twenty-seven  parts  of 
it  to  seventy-three  of  nitrogen  in  one  hundred,  the  latter 
of  which  quenches  all  light — and  instantly  our  planet 
would  be  enveloped  in  total  darkness,  every  ray  from  the 
sun,  moon,  or  stars  would  be  quenched  before  reaching 
a  human  eye,  and  therefore  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth 
not  a  heavenly  body  could  be  seen.  Here,  then,  Mr. 
worshipper  of  light  as  the  creator  of  all  things,  you  must 
change  your  god  to  oxygen — darkness  which  gives  birth 
to  every  ray  of  light.      That  light  redeemed  nature  from 


COSMOGONY.  409 

chaos,  and  that  it  is  the  principle  of  gravity,  are  other 
silly  vagaries  of  this  assumed  scientist  and  philosopher. 

He  makes  the  same  blunder  in  confounding  m.otion  and 
life,  and  that  everything  that  moves  is  alive,  when  we 
defy  him  to  explain  what  motion  or  life  is. 

Thus  writing  about  things  which  he  does  not  under- 
stand, how  can  what  he  says  be  anything  else  but  non- 
sense ?  A  man  with  a  friction  match  sets  fire  to  a  city, 
and  it  is  all  in  motion,  consuming  not  only  the  buildings, 
but  the  inhabitants.  In  the  process  the  city  is  destroyed 
and  the  inhabitants  are  dead.  What  did  it  ?  We  an- 
swer the  motion  and  the  light ;  ''  Truth  Seeker  "  answers, 
motion  which  is  life,  and  light  from  which  all  life  comes. 
'*  In  light  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being."  No, 
sir ;  but  in  "this  motion  and  light  every  living  thing  died, 
and  the  motion  and  the  light  did  it. 

When  ''Truth  Seeker"  makes  such  blunders  in  his 
understanding  of  nature,  the  work  of  God,  how  can  he  be 
expected  to  do  better  with  his  revealed  word  contained 
in  the  Bible?  We  have  seen  how  he  confounds  the 
moral,  intellectual  light  therein  brought  to  view  with  the 
physical  light  of  nature,  and  for  fear  we  would  expose  it, 
he  attempts  intimidation,  firing  off  a  cracker  supposing  it 
to  be  a  cannon-shot  of  the  largest  calibre.  Here  it  is : 
*^  He,  therefore,  who  denies  light  denies  God,  and  his 
words  are  but  as  sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbal." 

The  following  is  another  example  of  his  profound 
knowledge  of  Scripture : 

''  Turn  we  to  Webster  (list  of  scriptural  names),  and  we 
read:  'Adam — earthy  man,  red.'  Yes,  precisely,  'the 
red  earth' — the  very  chap  we  are  looking  for.  The  earth 
personified  is  Adam,  and  red  its  condition  in  our  hemi- 
sphere at  the  spring  equinox,  from  lack  of  verdure.  But, 
instantly  queries  Prof.  Mitchell,  how  do  you  know  the 
earth  to  be  Adam  ?  We  answer  from  Gen.  2:7:'  And 
the  Lord  God  (the  Summer  God — Aries  elohistic  or  light 
dispensing — the  sign  of  the  Ram  nearing  the  equinox  of 
spring — the  prophets  saw  '  the  Divinity  clothed  in  a  gar- 
ment white  as  snow,  and  his  hair  white  like  unto  wool') 
formed  (moulded  by  the  power  of  light)  man  (thepersoni- 


410      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

fied  earth)  of  the  dust  (matter)  of  the  ground  (the  uteric 
glebe — Earth  in  Virgo,  the  womb  or  foundation,  the  Sun 
being  in  Pisces  with  winter  expiring),  and  breathed  (in- 
filtrated) into  his  nostrils  (pores)  the  breath  of  life  (ani- 
mistic and  polarized  light),  and  man  (the  personified 
earth)  became  (was  turned  into)  a  living  (animated)  soul 
(existence — ^being).'  '  There  now,  you  execra])le  sinner  !  ' 
ejaculates  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mitchell,  forgetting  his  professor- 
ship, '  you  have  dared  let  the  cat  out  the  bag.'  So  have 
we,  but  we  are  obliged  to  do  it  in  self-defence.  It  was 
our  only  alternative,  and  we  have  but  employed  the 
knowledge  with  which  we  are  clothed.  'Awful,'  no 
doubt,  cogitates  our  learned  antagonist,  having  relapsed 
into  discreet  silence.  But  so  it  is  that  on  each  recurring 
spring  equinox,  in  our  hemisphere,  Adam,  or  the  Earth, 
comes  forth  in  renewed  being,  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of 
husbandman  or  vine-dresser  in  the  Edenic  garden — the 
light  or  Summer  Zodiac." 

Again,  he  says  we  cannot  understand  the  Scriptures  un- 
less we  have  penetrated  the  arcana  of  the  Order  of  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons — taken  the  Blue  Lodge  and  its 
higher  degrees.  In  '' Cosmogony"  we  have  claimed  that 
it  is  the  right  of  every  man  to  study  the  Bible  for  him- 
self, and  equally  to  test  every  religious  sentiment  by  this 
standard  ;  in  answer  to  which  ''  Truth  Seeker  "  discourses 
thus : 

"This  implies  that  Prof.  Mitchell  understands  the  im- 
port of  Scripture  statements.  But  does  he?  By  what 
token  is  he  to  be  known  as  a  Bible  light?  Is  he  a  Free 
and  Accepted  Mason  ?  Has  he  taken  the  Blue  Lodge  and 
higher  degrees  of  the  Masonic  institution,  and  studied 
and  penetrated  its  arcana?  Surely,  if  he  has  not  he 
knows  little  of  the  Bible  or  its  statements,  for  the  door  of 
Masonry  is  a  i)assport  to  the  knowledge  of  the  hidden 
truths  embodied  in  the  P>ible,  which  he  could  not  attain, 
one  chance  in  a  million,  unless  he  had  entered  that  door. 
A  book  which  comprises  the  sublimated  wisdom  of  the 
ages,  and  whose  innate  meaning  could  only  be  broached 
within  the  tiled  recesses  of  the  secret  societies  of  antiquity 
that  gave  it  form  and  birth,  is  not  to  be  expounded  by 


COSMOGONY.  411 

every  wiseacre  that  comes  along,  and  whose  only  freedom 
to  its  pages  is  by  the  lurid  light  that  glimmers  within  his 
own  dark  and  especial  labyrinth  of  uninitiated  igno- 
rance. ' ' 

He  also  says  :  ''  The  personages  mentioned  in  both 
Old  and  New  Testaments  are  altogether  mythological." 
The  word  'Miiythological  "  means  fabulous,  feigned,  a 
fictitious  story,  not  real.  In  reference  to  Bible  names  let 
us  give  an  example  or  two  :  "  Now,  in  the  fifteenth  year 
of  the  reign  of  Tiberius  Caesar,  Pontius  Pilate  being  the 
governor  of  Judea,  and  Herod  being  Tetrarch  of  Gali- 
lee," etc.  (Luke  3:1.)  "And  it  came  to  pass  in  those 
days  that  there  went  out  a  decree  from  Caesar  Augustus, 
that  all  the  world  should  be  taxed."  (Luke  2:1.)  Ac- 
cording to  the  mythological  rule  of  interpretation  of  Script- 
ure, '^  Truth  Seeker"  learned  in  the  Blue  Lodge  arcana 
of  Masons  that  Tiberius  and  Augustus  Caesar  were  myths, 
not  real  men.  In  a  word,  that  they  are  fabricated  lies. 
In  further  illustration  of  the  "sublimated  wisdom" 
taught  in  this  arcana,  he  gives  us  the  foregoing  relating 
to  Adam  not  being  a  man,  but  a  myth  representing  the 
"  Earth,"  as  though  a  myth  could  represent  anything — 
nothing  representing  something.  If  there  ever  was  a  rig- 
marole, a  barbarous  jargon  of  cant,  this  bears  the  palm. 
That  nothing  of  the  like  is  taught  in  the  Bible  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  its  contriver  has  been  obliged  to  make 
one  covering  the  subject — a  mythical  bible,  which  is  no 
Bible  at  all.  Look  at  the  contrast :  "  And  the  Lord  God 
formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into 
his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living 
soul."  (Gen.  2  :  7.)  Here  was  man,  a  living  soul,  or- 
ganized according  to  the  laws  of  animal  life,  requiring 
lungs  to  breathe,  stomach  to  digest  food — in  a  word,  the 
existence  of  every  vital  organ,  and  not  admitting  of  a 
single  rudiment.  His  Maker  breathed  into  his  nostrils 
the  first  breath  of  life,  not  life  itself,  and  the  second  and 
every  subsequent  one  the  man  inhaled  himself,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  each  vital  organ  began  to  perform  its 
function,  and  the  result  was,  "the  man  became  a  living 
soul.''     Here  was  a  man  made  out  of  the  earth,  the  pro- 


412      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

genitor  of  the  human  species.  The  first  name  of  this  hv- 
ing  soul  was  Man,  which  does  not  signify  red  earth  ;  his 
second  name  was  Adam,  which  does  signify  red  earth, 
and  because  this  is  the  signification  of  the  second  name, 
Adam,  therefore  the  Man  was  not  a  man  but  a  myth, 
representing  the  whole  red  earth.  The  name  "  animal  " 
as  much  signifies  '^  red  earth  "  as  that  of  man,  and  be- 
cause the  animals  were  also  made  out  of  red  earth  they 
were  not  animals  at  all,  but  mythical  red  earth. 

These  are  the  silly  efi'usions  which  come  from  a  man 
who  does  not  rank  high  enough  in  the  scale  of  mental 
conception  to  know,  from  the  observation  of  nature,  that 
there  is  a  personal  God,  and  that  by  Him  the  world  was 
created.  In  fact,  this  wheelbarrow  load  of  red  earth, 
''  Truth  Seeker,"  has  not  intelligence  enough  to  compre- 
hend what  intelligence  is,  or  any  of  the  conditions  essen- 
tial to  its  existence,  really  supposing  it  to  be  a  certain 
portion  of  all  matter,  and  which  can  therefore  be  meas- 
ured up  in  a  bushel  like  any  other  commodity.  Hear 
him  :  ''  Intelligence  is  in  every  particle  of  matter — pota- 
toes, cabbages,  corn,  wheat,  onions,  leeks,  and  garlic — 
you  eat.  All  contain  the  elements  of  intelligence." 
Science,  however,  teaches  and  demonstrates  that  intel- 
ligence is  that  faculty  of  the  mind  which  receives  or 
comprehends  the  ideas  communicated  to  it  through  the 
senses — the  faculty  of  thinking — the  conditions  of  which 
are  the  possession  of  brain  and  at  least  one  of  the  organs 
of  sense,  all  combined  in  a  single  body,  and  that  body 
must  be  alive,  and  it  must  breathe  to  be  alive,  and  it 
must  have  lungs  in  order  to  breathe.  As  not  one  of  the 
things  "■  Truth  Seeker  "  here  names  has  any  of  these  fac- 
ulties, or  i)ossesses  one  of  the  conditions,  not  one  of  them 
has  the  least  intelligence.  Here  again  this  man  puts  him- 
self in  contradiction  to  the  science  of  physiology,  mental 
])hilosophy,  and  the  universal  facts  of  nature  and  obser- 
vation. 

He  also  quotes  as  follows  from  '■'■  Cosmogony,"  and  so 
dishonestly  that  it  demands  a  brief  notice  : 

"  If  '  seed  in  itself  means  anything,  it  means  inherent 
l)ower   in   the  seed   in  sufficient  strength  to  bring  forth 


COSMOGONY.  413 

fruit  conformable  to  the  seed's  nature,  when  the  elements 
are  free  to  act.  If  it  have  not  this  power,  and  supernat- 
ural power  must  intervene  to  effectuate  the  evolvement, 
then  'seed  in  itself  is  not  'seed  in  itself/  but  some- 
thing else.      How  does  this  strike  you,  Professor  ?  " 

Here  "  Truth  Seeker  "  mistakes  and  misstates  our  ar- 
gument, and  then  asks  "  how  it  strikes  us."  The  short 
answer  is,  it  strikes  us  just  as  we  have  here  declared. 
Our  argument  in  "  Cosmogony  "  is,  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary for  the  evolvement  of  seed  after  its  kind  that  super- 
natural power  must  intervene  ;  but  that  his  intervention 
was  necessary  to  involve  this  faculty  in  the  first  seed  of 
each  species  of  plant  and  animal  kind,  the  work  of  nat- 
ure being  hmited  to  the  evolution — the  bringing  out  of 
the  seed  that  faculty  the  Creator  had  previously  incorpo- 
rated, involved,  in  the  seed,  or  in  the  plant,  the  faculty 
which  endowed  it  with  the  power  to  produce  the  seed 
after  its  kind.  The  first  was  involution,  the  second  evo- 
lution ;  but  the  superficial  mind  of  "  Truth  Seeker"  is 
such  that  he  does  not  conceive  the  necessity  of  first  put- 
ting things  into  before  you  can  bring  them  out  of.  But, 
Mr.  "Truth  Seeker,"  we  will  add  to  our  answer  the  as- 
sertion that,  if  you  did  not  pervert  our  ideas  contained  in 
"Cosmogony,"  you  would  have  nothing  to  say,  and  if 
you  were  not  conscious  of  this  fact  you  would  state  them 
as  they  are,  both  positions  and  arguments  sustaining 
them,  which  you  have  not  done  in  a  single  instance. 

He  says  :  "  God  could  not  involve  where  segregation 
could  not  exist."  Segregation  means  separation.  Very 
well ;  but  js  not  all  the  matter  of  the  universe  an  aggre- 
gation of  atoms,  and  could  not  God  have  involved  in  each 
of  them  the  properties  of  electrical  polarity  and  peculiar 
chemical  affinity,  forming  all  into  classes  with  these  dif- 
ferences, just  as  we  find  them?  And  this  is  the  doctrine 
contained  in  "  Cosmogony."  His  language  implies  that 
its  author  entertains  the  silly  notion,  which  no  one  ever 
advanced  before  intimated  by  "Truth  Seeker,"  that  all 
original  matter  was  a  solid  bulk,  an  impenetrable  mass  ; 
and  then,  as  though  it  was  our  idea,  and  in  order  to 
prove  our  doctrine  of  involution   false,    which    demon- 


414      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

strates  every  j^hase  of  evolution  such,  he  puts  this  in  his 
article  as  replying  to  us.  Well,  we  would  not  deprive 
him  of  the  empty  honor  of  thus  setting  up  a  man  of  straw 
and  knocking  him  down  again,  in  order  to  show  your 
readers  he  is  capable  of  doing  something ;  but  he  should 
have  been  honest  enough  not  to  charge  us  with  the  work 
of  its  erection. 

He  says  something  about  our  syllogisms,  and  the  view 
he  takes  of  them,  which  is  rather  incoherent,  but  we  take 
it  for  granted  that  it  is  some  mythological  inconception 
floating  in  the  brain  ("red  earth")  of  the  mythical 
Adam,  "  Truth  Seeker."  That  he  may  have  a  clear  view 
of  a  syllogism  hereafter,  we  will  remind  him  that  it  is  a 
form  of  reasoning,  or  an  argument,  consisting  of  three 
propositions,  of  which  the  first  two  are  called  })remises, 
and  the  last  the  conclusion.  In  this  argument  the  con- 
clusion necessarily  follows  from  the  premises  ;  so  that  if 
the  two  first  propositions  are  true,  the  conclusion  must 
be  true,  and  the  argument  amounts  to  demonstration. 
There  are  more  than  forty  of  these  syllogisms  in  "  Cos- 
mogony," demonstrating  the  existence  of  a  personal  God 
— that  he  created  the  world — that  it  was  created  and 
could  not  have  evolved — that  it  was  perfect  at  first — that 
nature  was  incapable  of  the  work,  and  it  was  therefore 
supernatural,  and  therefore  also,  miraculous,  etc.  No  one 
of  these  syllogisms  depends  upon  another  ;  any  one  of 
them,  therefore,  />{'i/ig  a  syllogism,  demonstrates  our  posi- 
tion. If  "■  Truth  Seeker  "  wishes  to  destroy  this  conclu- 
sion, his  task  is  to  show  they  are  not  syllogisms,  or  any  of 
them. 

In  conclusion,  permit  us  to  say  that  it  seems  but 
reasonable  that  we  should  ask  our  opponents  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  a  book  entitled  ''  Cosmogony  "  is  published, 
of  which  we  are  the  author,  and  in  which  every  question 
of  natural  science  of  any  importance  has  been  investi- 
gated, including  every  other  which  has  ever  been  arrayed 
against  the  direct  insi)iration  and  revelation  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  that  by  the  mind  and  will  of  Cod.  What 
we,  therefore,  demand  of  our  op])Osers  is,  that  they  shall 
state  our  position  in  the  discussion  of  any  of  these  ques- 


COSMOGONY.  415 

tions  in  our  own  words,  giving  our  arguments  and  illus- 
trations in  its  defence,  and  then  let  them  show  our  error 
by  producing  more  conclusive  arguments  against  it. 

Thos.  Mitchell. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Pf^of.  Thomas  Mitchell  Answers  Dr.  Wo  alley. 

Editor  Merchant  and  Manufacturer  : 

In  answer  to  the  article  of  Dr.  Woolley,  in  your  paper 
of  January  20th,  we  may  remark  that,  however  reluctant- 
ly we  may  have  engaged  in  this  controversy,  the  dates 
show  our  position  to  have  been  defensive,  and  now  the 
only  possible  escape  is  the  weakness  of  our  cause.-  To 
hide  this,  we  hope  to  have  the  magnanimity  toward  our 
opponents  that  disdains  the  employment  of  mere  sophis- 
try. That  Dr.  Woolley  made  the  attack  on  us,  the  follow- 
ing from  his  first  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Merchant 
and  Manufacturer  shows  : 

''Seeing  in  your  valuable  paper  a  criticism  by  '  Truth 
Seeker '  of  Prof.  Mitchell's  new  work  entitled  '  Cosmog- 
ony,' and  an  answer  thereunto  by  the  author  of  said 
work,  it  occurred  to  me  that  neither  party  rightly  under- 
stood his  subject,  '  Cosmogony.'  " 

Now,  sir,  did  not  such  an  imputation  render  a  reply 
from  us  a  necessity  ?  This,  our  second  reply,  we  intro- 
duce by  asking  the  questions  which  we  shall  endeavor  to 
answer.  What  is  ''Cosmogony?"  and,  What  is  Mythol- 
ogy? In  our  book  entitled  "  Cosmogony  "  we  have  used 
the  word  to  signify  the  origin  of  the  universe,  limiting 
the  word  "  universe  "  to  the  solar  system,  and  as  compre- 
hending the  manner  of  its  origin,  and  that  manner  to 
have  been  the  direct  work  of  a  living,  personal  Crea- 
tor. That  this  modern  signification  of  the  word  "  Cos- 
mogony ' '  is  correct,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  all  the 
great  lights  in  modern  science  discard  it,  as  conflict- 
ing with  Prof.  Proctor's  fiery  origin  of  the  solar  system 
as  well  as  with  that  of  evolution.  One  of  these  author- 
ities, Prof.  Tyndall,  in  his  Belfast  speech,  made  in 
August,   1874,  gives  us  the  following  in  relation  to  this 


4l6      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

word  :  *'  All  religious  theories,  schemes,  and  systems, 
which  embrace  notions  of  '  Cosmogony,'  or  which 
otherwise  reach  into  its  domain,  must,  in  so  far  as  they 
do  this,  submit  to  the  control  of  science,  and  relinquish 
all  thoughts  of  controlling  it." 

In  relation  to  mythology  and  its  origin,  we  quote  the 
following  condensed  history  from  "  The  World's  Pro- 
gress," p.  432,  under  the  "Mysteries"  and  ''Mythol- 
ogy-" 

''  The  mysteries  originated  in  Egypt,  the  land  of  idola- 
try, and  were  an  institution  of  the  priesthood  to  extend 
their  own  influence ;  so  that  all  maxims  in  morality, 
tenets  of  theology,  and  dogmas  in  philosophy  were  Avrapt 
up  in  a  veil  of  allegory  and  mystery.  From  the  Egyp- 
tian mysteries  of  Isis  and  Osiris,  sprung  those  of  Bacchus 
and  Ceres  among  the  Greeks.  The  Eleusinian  mysteries 
were  introduced  at  Athens  by  Eumolpus,  1356  B.C.  The 
laws  were  :  i.  To  honor  parents.  2.  To  honor  the  gods 
with  the  fruits  of  the  earth.  3.  Not  to  treat  brutes  with 
cruelty.  The  Eleusinian  mysteries  were  abolished  by  the 
emperor  Theodosius,  a.d.  389.  Mythology,  or  Fable, 
usurped  the  place  of  historical  truth  as  soon  as  the  authen- 
tic tradition  concerning  the  creation  had  been  lost  or 
adulterated  ;  and  persons  who  had  rendered  themselves 
renowned  as  kings  or  leaders  in  this  life,  and  whose 
achievements  had  dazzled  the  benighted  understanding  of 
men  living  in  a  state  of  nature,  were  supposed  to  be  more 
than  mortal,  and  therefore  after  death  the  multitude  were 
easily  taught  to  reverence  them  with  divine  honors.  The 
Egyjjtians  and  Babylonians,  after  forgetting  the  invisible 
and  true  Cod,  worshipped  positive  objects,  as  the  sun  and 
moon,  and  then  transferred  their  adoration  to  the  opera- 
tions of  nature  and  the  passions  of  their  own  minds,  which 
they  embodied  under  symbolical  representations,  and  ul- 
timately worshipped  the  symbols  themselves.  Thoth  is 
sui)}josed  to  have  introduced  mythology  among  the  Egyp- 
tians, 1521  B.C.;  and  Cadmus,  the  worship  of  the  Egyj)- 
tian    and    Phoenician   deities   among  the    Creeks,    1493 

B.C." 

All  ancient  history  attests  the  fact  that  Egypt  was  the 


COSMOGONY.  417 

cradle  of  mythology,  and  the  earliest  date  of  its  origin  is 
1 52 1  B.C.,  while  the  chronology  of  the  creation,  as  given 
in  the  Scriptures,  runs  back  from  that  twenty-five  hun- 
dred and  eighty-six  years. 

This  written  account  of  the  origin  of  the  world  was  in 
the  possession  of  a  genealogical  line  of  the  oldest  son  of 
each  successive  generation  from  Adam  to  Noah — from 
Noah  to  Jacob,  then  among  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt,  four 
hundred  years,  reaching  to  Moses,  and  so  on  down.  All 
other  branches  of  these  families,  settling  other  countries, 
depended  upon  tradition  to  hand  down  the  cosmogony  ot 
the  world,  and  therefore  necessarily  the  true  account  be- 
came corrupted,  and  this  corruption  is  mythology.  They 
were  not  atheists,  rejecting  the  idea  of  the  existence  of  a 
personal  God,  or  that  he  created  the  world.  This  de- 
gree of  degradation  was  left  to  their  modern  type,  such  as 
Dr.  Woolley  and  ''  Truth-Seeker."  Everyone  of  their 
gods  was  a  person  ;  and  dark  as  were  their  minds,  they 
had  sufficient  reason  not  to  commit  so  great  a  blunder  as 
to  make  a  personal  image  to  represent  an  impersonality — 
a  thing  to  symbolize  a  myth,  a  nothing.  Having  lost 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  by  the  march  of  genera- 
tions, but  still  retaining  the  conviction  of  the  existence 
of  a  power  above  them  as  the  life-giver  and  bread-giver, 
and  that  in  the  course  of  nature  the  sun  was  the  most 
prominent  source  from  whence  these  proceed,  they  wor- 
shipped him.  Then  discovering  that  ^'  heat'^  was  also 
an  essential  worker  in  the  production  of  food  and  cloth- 
ing, they  worshipped  **fire."  They  now  had  a  god  of 
light  and  a  god  of  fire.  But  by  observing  the  operations 
of  nature,  they  saw  that  "Summer"  was  also  concerned 
in  the  production  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  they 
added  Summer  to  the  nomenclature  of  their  gods.  Still 
enlarging  their  knowledge  of  natural  science,  they  discov- 
ered rain  to  be  one  of  these  essentialities,  and  so  they  had 
a  rain-god.  Continuing  the  investigation,  and  discover- 
ing by  the  interdependence  of  the  organic  and  inorganic 
things  of  the  world,  sun,  and  moon,  and  even  supposing 
all  the  stars  in  some  way  connected  in  the  production  of 
the  means  of  human  life  and  support,   they  worshipped 


41 8      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

''all  the  host  of  heaven."  Thus  they  continued  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  their  gods  of  nature  until  Orpheus, 
a  Grecian  philosopher,  who  went  to  Egypt  to  finish  his 
education,  taught  that  everything  in  nature  was  god  and 
god  was  everything. 

Thus  we  trace  the  history  of  mythology,  from  its  origin 
to  its  present  condition,  every  step  of  the  way  receding 
further  and  further  from  the  knowledge  of  the  one  living 
and  true  God,  until  in  its  lowest  form,  and  of  course  the 
most  degrading  of  all,  it  sees  no  god  at  all,  and  nothing 
but  the  unknowing  universe,  and  pays  to  the  suns, 
moons,  summers,  rains,  stocks,  and  stones  its  sordid  wor- 
ship. This  is  the  religion  of  Dr.  Woolley,  his  "whirl- 
god,"  or  world-god,  which  has  so  blinded  his  mind  that 
he  is  not  ashamed  to  attempt  its  defence  in  a  public  jour- 
nal. 

And  here  may  we  not  ask,  if  it  is  superstition  to  believe 
in  one  God,  how  is  it  increased  by  believing  that  there 
are  as  many  gods  as  there  are  elements,  parts,  and  phe- 
nomenal manifestations  in  nature?  If  it  is  superstition 
to  believe  that  this  God  existed  before  the  world,  separate 
from  it,  and  also  that  he  made  it,  how  much  greater  to 
believe  that  he  is  part  and  parcel  of  nature,  and  that  she 
made  herself,  and  therefore  that  God  made  himself  ? 

Paul  once  delivered  a  discourse  on  Mar's  Hill,  Athens, 
surrounded  by  mythologists,  in  which  he  charged  them 
with  this  mental  habit  thus  :  "Ye  men  of  Athens,  I  per- 
ceive that  in  all  things  ye  are  too  superstitious  ;  for  as  I 
passed  by,  and  beheld  your  devotions,  I  found  an  altar 
with  this  inscription  :  '  To  the  unknown  God  ;  '  whom 
therefore  ye  ignorantly  worship,  him  declare  I  unto 
you  ;  "  and  he  preached  unto  them  "  Jesus  and  the  res- 
urrection."    (Acts  17  :    22,  23.) 

It  is  superstition  to  believe  things  without  evidence. 
A  philosophic  mind  demands  evidence  for  its  belief,  and 
reason  for  its  conclusions.  In  contrast  to  this  is  a  mytho- 
logical mind.  It  requires  for  its  belief  that  which  it  can- 
not comprehend.  Pliilosophic  science  is  too  gross  for  its 
ai)petite  ;  it  grows  only  on  the  marvellous — mysteries  for 
facts,  myths  for  gods.     Feed  it  with  hallucination  and  it 


COSMOGONY.  419 

is  in  its  element.  In  the  use  of  words  such  minds  act  as 
though  they  were  the  proprietors  of  the  words,  and  there- 
fore change  their  orthography  and  definition  to  make 
them  express  the  marvellous.  Dr.  Woolley  wishes  to 
make  it  appear  that  the  ancient  mythologists  believed  the 
world  and  universe  made  one  turn  each  year,  and  this  is 
taught  by  the  use  of  these  two  words,  thus  : 

"  Prof.  Mitchell  makes  Universe,  and  truthfully,  too, 
synonymous  with  world.  Therefore,  what  the  one  means 
the  other  means.  Now,  Universe  signifies  one-turn,  or 
the  year,  as  does  world  or  whirled,  the  latter  being  so 
called  because  the  earth  is  whirled  through  space  around 
the  sun  once  every  year,  thus  enabling  the  astronomical 
observer  to  view  the  whole  heavens,  both  the  upper  and 
the  lower,  in  his  own  latitude  during  this  one  turn." 

That  these  mythologists  did  not  know  that  the  earth 
was  a  sphere,  or  that  it  turned  or  moved  at  all,  we  have 
the  testimony  of  Euclid  as  late  as  about  300  B.C.  And 
it  must  be  remembered  that  Euclid  was  in  possession  of 
almost  all  the  writings  of  the  philosophers  who  had  pre- 
ceded him.  This  is  from  a  discourse  given  to  a  pupil  by 
Euclid  in  his  library.      Said  the  pupil : 

"  Euclid  asked  me  how  so  ponderous  a  mass  as  the 
earth  could  maintain  its  equilibrium  in  the  air.  It  is  the 
same  with  the  earth  perhaps  as  with  the  planets  and  stars. 
'  But,'  said  he,  '  precautions  have  been  taken  to  hinder 
them  falling  by  attaching  them  to  spheres  extremely  solid, 
but  transparent ;  these  spheres  turn,  and  the  heavenly 
bodies  revolve  with  them,  but  we  see  nothing  around  us 
by  which  the  earth  can  be  suspended  ;  why,  therefore, 
does  it  not  plunge  into  the  depth  of  the  surrounding  fluid? 
Some  say  the  reason  is  because  it  is  on  every  side  envi- 
roned by  air  ;  the  earth  is  like  a  mountain,  the  founda- 
tions or  roots  of  which  extend  themselves  into  the  infinite 
profundity  of  space.  We  occupy  the  summit  of  this  moun- 
tain, and  may  sleep  in  safety  upon  it.  Others  flatten  the 
under  part  of  it,  that  it  may  rest  on  a  greater  number  of 
columns  of  air,  or  float  upon  the  waters. 

"  '  But,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  almost  proved  to  be  of  a 
spherical  form ;  and   if  we  make  choice  of  air  to  sustain 


420      CONFLICT  OK  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

it,  that  is  too  weak  ;  if  of  water,  it  may  be  asked  :  What 
does  that  rest  upon  ?  Our  natural  philosoi)hers  have 
lately  discovered  a  more  simple  method  of  calming  our 
apprehensions.  By  virtue  of  a  general  law,  say  they, 
all  heavenly  bodies  tend  toward  one  great  point,  which 
is  the  centre  of  the  universe,  the  centre  of  the  earth.  All 
the  constituent  parts  of  the  earth,  therefore,  instead  of 
flying  off  from  this  centre,  are  continually  pressing  against 
each  other  to  approach  it.'  " 

Here  is  the  fact  that  the  ancients  used  the  word 
''world,"  but  they  had  no  idea  it  whirled  round  once  a 
year.  They  used  the  word  "universe,"  also,  but  had 
not  the  least  conception  that  the  word  signified  to  turn 
round  once  a  year.  We  may  credit  this  to  Dr.  Woolley 
as  hallucination  No.  i. 

He  further  says  : 

''  The  Cosmogonies  of  all  nations  relate  to  the  i)henom- 
ena  of  the  year  only,  and  not  at  all  to  the  making  of 
something  out  of  nothing." 

The  Cosmogonies  of  all  nations  do  not  relate  to  the 
l)henomena  of  the  year,  nor  to  the  year  itself,  but  to  the 
origin  of  the  world,  and  that,  too,  connecting  it  witli 
the  Deity  or  Supreme  Being.  Nor  does  the  Cosmogony 
of  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the  Creator  made  all  things, 
or  anything,  ''out  of  nothing."  These  are,  therefore, 
Nos.  2  and  3  of  the  Doctor's  hallucinations.  Again  we 
have  the  following  : 

"  Let  us  examine  more  critically,  to  be  quite  certain, 
and  also  in  self-defence,  the  Hebrew  cosmogony  as  found 
in  Cen.  i  :  '  In  the  beginning  God  created  tlie  heaven 
and  the  earth.'  The  Hebrew  text,  by  a  strict  rendering, 
will  read  :  'In  the  head  the  Elohim  divided  \\-\q  heavens 
and  the  earth.'  Here  Elohim,  the  word  translated  God, 
is  a  plural  noun.  Drop  //;/,  the  sign  of  the  plural,  and 
Eloh  remains.  Eloh  (the  Allah  of  the  Moslems)  is  a  com- 
pound made  up  of  EI,  Aries,  and  oh,  iah,  ox  Jah,  the 
short  {ox  jahoch,  the  Summer  Sun.  Eloh,  then,  is  Aries- 
Sun,  or  the  Sun  in  Aries  and  during  summer.  The  Sun 
enters  Aries  at  the  spring  ecpiinox.  This  proves  that 
the  word  rendered  '  beginning  '  should  have  been  trans- 


COSMOGONY.  421 

lated  head,  since  at  that  time  the  Ram  is  exactly  over  the 
man's  head." 

Marvellous  exegesis,  pure  myths. 

Because  a  certain  group  of  stars,  the  outlines  of  which 
somewhat  resemble  those  of  a  ram,  is  exactly  over  the 
man's  head  in  a  certain  season  of  the  year,  it  proves  that 
the  word  beginning  should  have  been  rendered  head ; 
instead  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  Behold  what  a 
genius  of  a  linguist  is  a  mythologist?  This  is  hallucina- 
tion No.  4. 

''  It  was  before  the  beginning  at  the  spring  equinox, 
'  when  the  upper  region  was  not  yet  called  Heaven,  and 
the  lower  region  was  not  yet  called  earth,  and  the  Abyss 
of  Hades  had  not  yet  opened  its  arm,  that  the  chaos  of 
waters  gave  birth  to  all  of  them.'  "  (See  Lenormant, 
''Chaldean  Magic-,"  p.  122.) 

The  word  "beginning"  conveys  the  idea  of  time, 
but  "head"  does  not,  and  if  it  means  "head,"  then 
you  have  no  right  to  use  it  as  here  in  the  sense  of  time ; 
hence  your  rendering  "head"  in  the  other  passage 
debars  you  from  rendering  it  "beginning"  in  this,  and 
this  fact  spoils  the  text.  The  passage  which  this  lying 
Chaldean  magician,  or  this  modern  writer  on  magic,  thus 
perverts  is  this:  "And  God  made  the  firmament  and 
called  the  firmament  heaven,  and  he  said  let  the  waters 
under  the  heaven  be  gathered  together  unto  one  place, 
and  let  dry  land  appear,  and  the  dry  land  be  called  earth, 
and  the  waters  seas."  Here  the  heavens  or  upper  region 
was  created  before  the  waters,  instead  of  the  waters  giving 
it  birth.  But  how  can  you  reason  against  such  marvellous 
credulity?     This  is  hallucination  No  5. 

"All  was  then  chaos.  The  earth  was  dreary  and  deso- 
late. 'None  of  the  gods  had  yet  been  born.'  (Ibid.) 
'  God  (£/(?h)  came  from  Teman  '  (the  south).  (Hab.  3  : 
3.)  When  we  reflect  that  at  the  winter  solstice  Aries  is 
on  his  meridian,  and  that  from  thence  he  makes  his  way 
day  by  day  toward  the  east  until  the  sun  coming  from 
the  south  joins  him  at  the  spring  equinox,  we  can  readily 
understand  how  God  {Eloh,  singular)  came  from  the 
south,  and  why  the  gods  {jElohiin,  plural),  or  the  seven 


422      CONP^LTCT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

summer  months,  were  not  yet  born.  Of  course,  then, 
where  there  are  no  gods,  there  can  be  no  creation,  no 
cosmogony,  no  clothing  and  beautifying  the  earth ;  and 
the  fool  (Nabal,  winter,  emptiness,  Abigail's  husband) 
spake  truth  when  he  said  in  his  heart  (mid-winter)  there 
are  no  Elohim."      (Ps.  14:    i.) 

At  this  time  all  was  chaos,  none  of  the  gods  had  yet 
been  born.  All  was  a  confused  mass ;  there  were  no 
different  kinds  ;  all  was  disorder.  This  is  Ovid's  view  of 
it.  Now  the  disorder  goes  to  work  and  makes  order,  no 
kind  commences  and  makes  kinds — these  kinds  are  light, 
heat,  spring,  summer,  etc.,  and  these  are  the  gods,  and 
thus  were  they  born,  and  of  course  Chaos  was  their 
mother  that  brought  them  to  birth.  These  gods  or  this 
god  came  from  the  South — the  South  of  Chaos,  when 
Chaos  had  no  South  ;  the  South — the  ecjuator — was  one 
of  the  gods  that  was  born,  then  god  came  from  Chaos, 
and  not  from  the  South.  Now,  Doctor,  as  we  are  not 
blessed  with  mythic  eyes  to  see  how  all  this  could  have 
been,  will  you  not  please  descend  to  our  low  reasoning 
faculties,  and  explain  the  scientific  and  philosophic  prin- 
ciple upon  which  the  Chaos,  the  confused  mass  of  matter, 
the  disorder,  commenced  and  prosecuted  the  task  of 
making  the  universal  order  which  exists?  Do  not  over- 
look the  point  as  to  how  she  made  the  gods  which  control 
her,  and  why  the  mother  wished  to  be  controlled  by  her 
children — a  very  unnatural  occurrence. 

The  passage  from  Habakkuk  which  the  Doctor  here 
attempts  to  reduce  to  mythology,  is  a  prophetic  prediction 
of  the  work  to  be  accomplished  by  God,  the  Holy  One, 
at  the  end  of  this  world,  and  the  Holy  One  in  Scripture 
is  God  the  Creator  of  the  world,  invested  with  a  human 
form  ])recisely  like  that  of  man,  which  being  human  was 
crucified,  from  which  God  withdrew  while  he  hung  on 
the  cross.  This  the  crucified,  the  Holy  One,  was  in  the 
grave;  but  not  long  enough  to  *'see  corruption,"  as 
God  again  invested  himself  with  it  on  the  morning  of  the 
third  day.  (See  Acts  of  the  Apostles.)  He  is  to  come 
again  to  re-create  the  world  into  a  new  and  endless  one, 
and  in  the  glory  of  his   Father — the  glory  of  God — the 


COSMOGONY.  423 

indissoluble  investment — the  embodiment  of  the  God- 
head." 

The  passage  which  brings  to  vieAv  these  great  events, 
instead  of  teaching  the  childish  myth  the  Doctor  sees  in  it, 
is  as  follows:  ''God  came  from  Teman,  the  Holy  One 
from  Mount  Par  an.  His  glory  covered  the  heavens,  and 
the  earth  was  full  of  his  praise.  And  his  brightness  was 
as  the  light ;  and  had  horns  coming  out  of  his  hands  ; 
and  there  was  the  hiding  of  his  power.  Before  him  went 
the  pestilence,  and  burning  coals  went  forth  at  his  feet. 
He  stood  and  measured  the  earth :  he  beheld,  and  drove 
asunder  the  nations  ;  and  the  everlasting  mountains  were 
scattered ;  the  perpetual  hills  did  bow :  his  ways  are 
everlasting."  (Hab.  3  :  3-6.)  In  contrast  to  this  is 
Dr.  Woolley's  hallucination  No.  6. 

''  We  may  here  note  that  yoni,  the  Hebrew  for  day, 
may  denote  a  period  of  time,  as  well  as  our  English  word 
day.  During  the  second  day  (April)  the  waters  were 
dried  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  as  they  are  at  this  day. 
This  was  the  second  Hebrew  month,  and  the  very  month 
in  which  Noah  left  the  ark  and  became  a  husbandman. 
During  the  third  day  (May)  the  grass  was  fit  for  pasture. 
On  the  fourth  day  (June)  the  Elohim  erected,  or  set  up, 
two  great  lights,  i.e.,  they  brought  the  sun  and  moon  up 
into  the  highest  heavens,  at  the  summer  solstice  ;  the 
one  to  rule  the  day,  i.e.,  the  longest  day,  and  the  other 
to  rule  the  night — the  shortest  night.  This  is  the  true 
rendering  ;  the  common  one  bears  upon  its  face  the  stamp 
of  ignorance  and  falsehood,  and  gives  infidels,  equally 
ignorant  with  James's  translators,  occasion  to  scoff  at  and 
ridicule  the  true  Scriptures,  for  which  there  was  no  need. 
An  honest  translation  would  have  revealed  the  truth." 

Here  the  Doctor  grouj^s  together,  as  having  taken  place 
in  a  single  month,  the  events  of  creation  and  those  of  the 
deluge,  which  were  1,556  years  apart.  He  also  makes  the 
days  of  creation  months,  whereas  they  were  measured  by 
the  periods  of  morning  and  evening,  and  light  and  dark- 
ness ;  consequently  they  were  days  of  twenty-four  hours, 
and  nothing  less  nor  more. 

Another  of  his  mental  myths  is,  that  the  ignorant  trans- 


424      COxNFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

lators  of  King  James's  version  have  given  men  occasion  to 
scoff  at  the  true  Scriptures.  If  ever  a  man  deserved  desig- 
nation of  scoffer  for  perverting  and  mutilating  the  Word 
of  God,  and  behtthng  his  great  Creator  to  a  myth,  that 
man  is  this  same  Doctor  Milton  Woolley,  and  we  freely 
give  him  credit  for  hallucination  and  blasphemy.  No.  7. 

"  According  to  the  ancients,  whose  works  we  are  re- 
viewing, the  sun  perishes  and  is  reproduced  annually  at 
the  winter  solstice.  Therefore,  the  sun  is  older  than  the 
Elohim,  as  proven  by  the  facts  above  stated.  On  the  fifth 
day  (July)  the  Elohim  caused  the  animals  to  become  fat 
and  fruitful.  On  the  sixth  day  (August)  the  Elohim 
made  the  beasts  of  the  field  (domestic  animals),  the  creep- 
ing things,  and  lastly  man,  and  to  him  and  to  the  beasts 
also  they  gave  ''the  seeding  seed''  (see  marg.  reading), 
i.e.,  the  crops,  and  every  green  thing.  And  the  Elohim 
saw  and  pronounced  everything  they  had  made — good. 

"  Thus  we  have  enumerated  and  described  the  days  on 
which  the  Elohim  (Lord,  or  bread-distributor)  worked, 
and  these  six  days  answer  to  the  six  months  during  which 
the  sun  and  Aries  are  in  conjunction  and  above  the 
equinoctial  line.  During  the  seventh  day  (September), 
while  the  sun  is  in  Libra  and  Aries  is  setting,  i.e.,  while 
the  earth  is  passing  between  Aries  and  the  Sun,  the  Elo- 
him ''  end  their  work,"  after  which  they  ('^  God  ")  rest. 
Thus  have  we  seen  that  the  Chaldean,  the  Persian,  and 
the  Hebrew  Cosmogonies  run  parallel  in  every  particu- 
lar." 

The  Doctor  is  reviewing  the  works  of  the  ancients, 
and  he  finds  them  saying  that  the  sun  perishes  every  win- 
ter and  is  reproduced  every  summer.  According  to  the 
Scriptural  Cosmogony  (and  that  it  means  simply  phe- 
nomena, as  the  Doctor  claims  for  it),  the  sun  has  en- 
dured the  same  in  winter  and  summer  ever  since  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  and  is  so  to  continue  until  its  end. 
Here  are  two  Cosmogonies  totally  different,  and  yet  the 
Doctor  says:  "They  run  parallel  in  every  i)articular." 
The  universal  observation  of  mankind  i)ronounces  the 
Cosmogony  of  the  ancient  mythologists  a  lie,  and  that  of 
the  Scriptures  the  truth.      But  why  do  you  use  the  term, 


COSMOGONY.  425 

''  the  six  days  answer  to  six  months,"  when  your  descrip- 
tion shows  that  they  are  the  six  days  ?  Is  it  because  you 
have  not  the  moral  courage  to  openly  repudiate  the  book 
and  thus  sophisticate  ?  But  when  a  mind  is  so  strangely 
mixed  up  with  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  gods,  beasts,  and 
creeping  things,  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  same,  we  are 
disposed  to  credit  him  with  honesty,  and  therefore  in 
this,  as  in  other  instances,  we  designate  what  he  says 
here  as  hallucination  No.  8. 

The  Doctor  calls  the  Scripture  account  of  Creation  the 
''Hebrew  Cosmogony,"  when  the  fact  is,  both  the  work 
and  we  think  its  written  account  existed  2,674  years  be- 
fore the  Hebrew  nation,  or  before  Moses. 

''  And  the  additional  month  is  what  the  myth  of  Abra- 
ham (Summer)  refers  to.  He  attempted  at  the  end  of  the 
sixth  month  to  slay  his  son  Isaac  (heat),  but  the  Lord 
stayed  his  hand,  and  Abraham  offered  a  '  ram  caught  in 
a  thicket  (Aries  setting)  instead  of  his  son.'  "  (Gen. 
22:    13.) 

This  is  beautiful  !  Abraham  is  summer,  and  Isaac  is 
heat.  Summer  attempted  to  slay  heat  at  the  end  of  six 
months,  but  the  Lord  (which  is  light,  summer  and  heat) 
prevented  him  from  doing  it  !  Summer  attempted  to 
commit  suicide,  but  could  not  accomplish  the  act. 

This  is  the  version  of  Scripture  given  by  the  man  who 
denounces  the  ignorance  of  King  James's  translators,  be- 
cause it  gives  occasion  to"  scoff  at  a  book  whose  words 
may  be  so  wrested.  But  we  cloak  it  over  with  the  mild 
phrase — hallucination  No.  9. 

''  Ani  is  the  Sun,  Anima  is  the  life,  the  soul.  Ani- 
mare  means  to  animate.  Our  very  language  to-day 
recognizes  the  Sun  as  the  source  of  animation  or  exist- 
ence." 

It  is  of  no  importance  that  we  concede  superior  intelli- 
gence to  Dr.  Woolley.  His  articles,  and  especially  the 
one  we  are  reviewing,  abundantly  attest  that  fact.  They 
also  show  him  to  be  master  of  his  subject,  and  it  is  fair 
to  presume  that  there  is  no  important  idea  or  mythologi- 
cal interpretation  of  nature  or  its  phenomena  known  to 
its  ancient  schools  of  which  he  is  ignorant.     If  this  be  a 


425     CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY, 

fact,  and  if  we  demonstrate  his  theory  erroneous,  then  it 
follows  that  all  its  defenders,  of  all  ages,  are  equally  in 
error.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  above  paragraph  clearly 
defines  and  presents  the  fundamental  principle  of  Myth- 
ology as  the  only  foundation  upon  which  the  whole  su- 
perstructure stands.  ''  Ani  is  the  Sun,  Anima  is  the  life, 
the  soul;  Ani-mare  means  to  animate."  That  the  sun 
is  the  source  of  animation  or  existence  is  what  the  Doc- 
tor has  been  aiming  to  establish  in  both  of  his  arti- 
cles. It  will  be  seen  that  the  sun  existed  before  any  of 
the  gods,  and  these  are  only  such  parts  of  the  world  or 
its  phenomena  as  the  sun  brought  into  existence  ;  as  light, 
heat,  summer,  etc.  Here  then  we  have  the  position 
clearly  defined,  that  the  sun  existed  before  the  first  living 
soul,  or  man,  and  that  it  animated  him  or  gave  him  life. 
We  have  no  doubt  that  Dr.  Woolley  will  agree  with  us 
in  the  conclusion  that  it  adds  nothing  to  the  truth  of  this 
mythic  doctrine,  that  thousands  of  intelligent  people  in 
all  ages  believed  and  now  believe  it.  If  the  sun  was  and 
is  incapable  of  the  work  here  assigned  to  it,  then  it  is 
false  and  should  be  abandoned  by  every  honest  man. 
That  we  may  have  a  proper  understanding  of  this  subject, 
let  us  inquire.  What  were  the  conditions  upon  which  it 
was  possible  for  the  first  man  to  have  been  animated  into 
a  "  living  soul  ?  "  and  as  this  is  the  manner  of  expressing 
the  work  in  the  Scriptures,  as  well  as  by  the  Doctor,  it 
supersedes  any  argument  upon  this  point.  Its  precise 
words  are  :  "  And  the  Lord  Ciod  formed  man  of  the  dust 
of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath 
of  life,  and  the  man  became  a  livingsoul."  (Gen.  2  :  7.) 
The  well-known  laws  of  physiology,  confirmed  by 
observation  and  the  facts  of  natural  science,  demonstrate 
that  access  to  oxygenized  air  is  essential  to  the  com- 
mencement and  continuance  of  the  life  of  man.  Prevent 
any  man  from  inhaling  this  air  for  the  space  of  fifteen 
minutes,  more  or  less,  and  his  living  animation  ceases, 
though  the  sun-god  may  be  shining  u])on  him  in  his 
strength.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  a  man  will  become  and 
remain  animate  in  total  darkness,  even  from  birth  to 
maturity,  as  hundreds  have  in  mines,  where  not  a  ray  of 


COSMOGONY.  427 

the  sun-god  has  ever  touched  them.  Here  are  two  facts 
which  demonstrate  the  dark  air-god  to  have  superior 
animating  power  to  that  of  the  sun-god.  A  third  fact  is 
that  the  sun  cannot  animate  the  least  Hving  insect  into 
Hfe,  though  its  vital  organs  are  perfectly  formed,  if  the 
insect  is  deprived  of  air.  The  conclusion  is,  that  the  sun 
itself  never  did,  and  is  unable  now,  either  to  animate 
with  life,  or  continue  in  life  a  single  hour,  any  living 
creature.  Forgive  us.  Doctor,  for  using  this  iconoclastic 
club  in  the  demolition  of  your  shining  sun-god.  But  as 
we  propose  to  give  your  mythology  the  benefit  of  all  that 
the  gods  of  nature  can  do,  we  will  agree  to  throw  into 
your  scale  the  ''  air-god,"  and  let  them  co-operate  with 
all  their  separate  or  combined  powers,  and  see  if  they  are 
able  to  cause  a  man  to  exist  animate  with  life.  For  the 
test  we  will  give  the  two  gods  an  infinitely  better  chance 
than  they  could  have  had.  We  will  suppose  a  man  to 
have  been  formed  with  all  the  vital  organs,  except  lungs, 
and  now  awaits  the  action  of  the  two  gods  to  animate 
him  into  life.  The  sun  pours  his  tropical  rays,  and  in 
the  springtime  of  the  year,  upon  the  inanimate  object, 
and  has  tried  the  process  all  day,  but  has  gone  down  in 
disgust  at  his  feebleness — the  forthcoming  man  is  still  as 
cold  as  death.  He  rises  in  the  morning,  beholding  the 
lifeless  thing,  and  invokes  the  aid  of  his  fellow  air-god, 
who  immediately  responds ;  finding  his  nostrils  and 
mouth  open,  he  at  once  presses  into  the  place  where  the 
lungs  should  have  been,  but  are  not,  columns  of  air  with 
a  force  of  fifteen  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  but  he  starts 
back  in  astonishment  at  beholding  no  responsive  respira- 
tion ;  yet  the  lifeless  form  lies  stiff,  inanimate,  and  cold. 
How,  now.  Doctor,  about  your  mythic  gods,  who  ani- 
mated and  animate  every  living  thing  ?  But  if  it  will 
save  you  from  embarrassment,  and  your  system  from 
destruction,  we  will  give  the  man  perfect  lungs  ;  and 
though  the  sun-god  fails  to  animate  him  into  life,  perhaps 
the  air-god  can  succeed ;  and  now  he  has  inflated  the 
lungs  the  first  time,  and  the  machinery  itself  performs 
the  second  inhalation  and  exhalation,  and  the  third  and 
so  on,  and  the  man  lives ;  but  he  was  on  a  sandy  desert 


428      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Avhen  the  operation  took  place,  where  there  was  no  water, 
and  in  five  days  he  famished  ;  or  he  was  where  there 
was  no  food,  and  he  starved  ;  no  sun-god  could  keep  the 
animation  in  him. 

Thus,  Doctor,  you  see  that  we  might  go  through  the 
whole  list  of  vital  organs,  and  everything  connected  with 
the  human  body  is  vital,  the  removal  of  which  would 
put  out  the  animation.  Indeed,  we  might  carry  this 
argument,  as  we  have  done  it  in  "  Cosmogony,"  and 
show  that  to  keep  a  man  alive,  clothe,  and  feed  him,  ex- 
hausts the  resources  of  the  whole  solar  system,  and  that  it 
had  no  power  to  organize  the  first  persons  so  that  they 
were  susceptible  of  animation  ;  demonstrating,  therefore, 
as  such  beings  do  Hve,  that  their  organization  was  the 
work  of  a  power  superior  to  nature,  and  therefore  mirac- 
ulous, the  definition  of  which  is  to  cause  that  to  exist  of 
which  nature  is  incompetent.  Here  we  find  that  the 
manner  of  bringing  the  first  man  into  living  existence, 
by  philosophic  and  scientific  necessity,  was  the  Cos- 
mogony of  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  The  man  was  per- 
fectly organized  first,  and  animated  by  forcing  into  his 
nostrils  the  first  breath  of  life  ;  the  second  and  every 
other  he  inhaled  himself.  No,  Doctor,  if  you  still  be- 
lieve in  mythology,  that  the  sun  is  the  source  of  all 
animate  life  and  existence,  we  will  be  obliged  to  credit 
you  with  the  most  wonderful  hallucination  of  all,  No.  lo. 

But  he  says  of  us  : 

''  Professor  Mitchell  is  greatly  concerned  lest  the  Script- 
ures be  corrupted." 

No,  Doctor,  you  are  mistaken  in  the  supposition,  as 
we  hold  that  work  to  be  impossible  ;  and  they  are  un- 
corrupted  to-day.  Let  us  explain  what  we  mean,  and  we 
say  that  there  is  not  a  version  of  the  Scriptures,  made 
prior  to  the  last  thirty  years,  that  contains  a  single 
doctrine  or  ])hase  of  one  which  is  not  taught  in  every 
other  ;  nor  is  there  one  omitted  in  either  of  these.  Cod, 
the  author  of  the  work,  holds  the  copyright,  and  as  he 
has  ever  kept  it  thus  pure,  so  is  he  bound  to  do.  Now, 
after  having  pa.ssed  down  through  all  the  mythologies, 
and  false  religions,  hatred  of  atheists,  and  "  oppositions  of 


COSMOGONY.  429 

science,  falsely  so-called,"  with  its  statements  as  to  the 
origin  of  nature,  demonstrated  to  have  been  scientific  and 
philosophic  necessities,  how  can  we  be  afraid  that  men 
will  corrupt  it  ?  It  is  true,  men  may  make  books,  and 
call  them  versions  of  Scripture,  such  as  what  is  now 
called  the  "  New  Version,"  and  which  contains  ideas  not 
in  the  Scriptures,  but  this  cannot  have  the  blessing  of 
the  author  of  Scripture,  and  it  will  consequently  become 
obsolete,  except  as  it  may  remain  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  hate  the  Word  of  God,  and  love  this  book  because 
it  is  not  his  word,  and  because  those  who  made  it  took 
the  side  of  the  scoffers,  decrying  the  *' Scriptures  of 
truth  "  as  being  full  of  errors.  And  we  will  add  that 
the  marginal  readings  in  the  common  version  we  also 
discard,  as  they  often  convey  meanings  in  conflict  with 
the  truth  as  taught  in  the  sacred  text. 

This  is  our  position  and  opinion  of  the  Bible,  King 
James'  version,  after  carefully  studying  it  more  or  less 
every  day  for  fifty  years,  without  note  or  comment. 

''Our  Professor  is  greatly  exercised  over  the  inroads 
which  modern  science  has  made  and  is  making  against 
his  old  Cosmogony.  He  condemns,  in  unmeasured 
terms,  the  cultivators  and  abettors  of  such  science."" 

Here  the  doctor  does  us  injustice,  conveying  the  im- 
pression that  our  book  consists  in  denunciation  of  the 
cultivators  of  modern  science.  The  fact,  however,  is, 
we  have  shown  modern  science  to  be  false  science,  by 
contrasting  it  with  the  true  ;  and  that  too  at  every  point, 
demonstrating  the  modern  astronomical,  geological,  and 
evolution  theories  of  the  origin  of  the  solar  system,  the 
world,  and  its  inhabitants,  are  without  evidence,  fact,  or 
reason  in  their  defence.  On  the  other  hand,  showing 
that  the  statements  of  Scripture  touching  the  origin  of 
these,  and  therefore  the  old  Cosmogony,  are  the  most 
perfect  science  and  philosophy.  If  the  doctor  wishes  to 
show  this  old  Cosmogony  false,  and  he  felt  himself  com- 
petent to  the  task,  why  did  he  not  show,  at  least,  some 
one  of  our  positions  unsound  ?  What  we  have  done 
(unless  our  arguments  are  proved  defective)  is  this :  we 
have  wrested  natural  science  from  the  grasp  of  the  seep- 


430      CONFLICT  OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

tics  of  every  grade  and  name,  and  have  turned  the  poten- 
tial weapons  fatally  against  them.  If  this  be  so,  then 
these  scientists,  atheists,  pantheists,  and  mythologists  will 
have  cause  to  be  greatly  exercised  over  the  inroads  thus 
made  into  their  fallacious  schemes.  Instead  of  designat- 
ing this  paragraph  of  the  doctor's  hallucinatiion,  we  are 
compelled  to  denominate  it,  misrepresentation  No.  i. 

'^  But  Professor  Mitchell,  like  thousands  of  others,  be- 
lieves there  is  a  '  personal  God,'  who,  being  everywhere 
present,  fills  all  space,  and  yet,  though  invisible  to  the 
prying  eye  of  science,  guides  and  directs  the  affairs  of 
our  little  planet.  This  is  his  privilege,  and  no  one  has  a 
right  to  censure  or  call  him  names  on  account  of  his 
belief." 

If  Dr.  Woolley  had  read  '*  Cosmogony,"  he  would 
not  have  made  all  these  imputations.  It  is  true  we  be- 
lieve in  a  personal  God.  It  is  not  true  that  we  believe 
he  fills  all  space,  because  he  sees  and  knows  whatever 
exists  in  space,  as  he  made  all.  As  an  answer  to  this 
see  our  article  in  the  Merchant  and  Manufacturer  of 
January  27th,  in  answer  to  ''Truth  Seeker."  That  a 
personal  God  is  invisible  to  the  prying  eye  of  science,  is 
true  only  as  to  the  eye  of  such  science  as.  the  mythical 
and  of  the  doctor's  kind,  while  to  the  eye  of  true  science, 
comprehending  every  fact  and  phenomenon  of  nature,  a 
])ersonal  God  is  as  visible  in  the  universe  as  the  universe 
itself.  The  absurd  ridicule  of  the  doctor's,  to  the  effect 
that  God  should  have  condescended  to  guide  the  affairs 
of  this  little  planet,  is  only  equalled  by  the  ignorance  of 
him  who  made  it,  in  reference  to  it.  It  supposes  a  being 
could  have  had  interest  enough  to  have  made  such  a  vast 
piece  of  complicated  mechanism,  the  most  minute  thing 
of  which  answers  a  purpose,  ''as  the  great  globe  we  in- 
herit"— starting  and  keeping  it  in  operation  for  six 
thousand  years — teeming  with  successive  generations  of 
animal  and  i)lant  life,  to  make  a  single  inch  of  the 
simplest  leaf,  sets  all  human  skill  at  utter  defiance,  and 
yet  that  he  takes  no  interest  in  its  affairs  and  guidance. 
'I'his  is  too  supercilious  for  serious  contemplation,  and 
can  only  emanate  from  a  man  whom  this  great  God  ap- 


COSMOGONY.  431 

propriately  describes  thus:  *'The  fool  hath  said  in  his 
heart  there  is  no  God."  That  one  of  these  should  have 
presumed  to  award  us  the  right  to  believe  in  the  existence 
of  this  personal  God,  fully  identifies  him  with  this  char- 
acter. We  can  only  appropriately  designate  this  para- 
graph as  an  incongruous  mixture  of  misrepresentation, 
vanity,  and  arrogance. 

We  cannot  close  this  article  without  noticing  the  fol- 
lowing sarcastic  and  unjust  fling  : 

''But  he  is  particularly  laudative  of  the  times  when 
'  men  lived  for  many  ages  in  a  state  of  ignorance  which 
left  their  reason  at  peace !  Contented  with  the  confused 
traditions  transmitted  to  them  concerning  the  origin  of 
things,  they  lived  happy  without  seeking  to  enlarge  the 
sphere  of  their  knov/ledge. '  O,  how  happy  !  Doubtless 
our  worthy  professor  would  be  glad  to  lapse  into  the 
middle  ages,  otherwise  styled  the  dark  ages,  when  the 
human  intellect  was  well  nigh  blotted  out.  He  would 
dispense  with  the  printing-press,  the  steam-power,  ships, 
railroads,  telegraphs,  and  every  means  of  intercommuni- 
cation and  consequently  of  civilization.  Above  all,  he 
would  do  away  with  all  schools,  public  libraries,  and  every- 
thing that  has  a  tendency  to  enlighten  the  people.  That 
such  would  be  the  policy  of  the  man,  if  in  his  power,  who 
dare  at  this  day  assert  in  a  public  journal  '  that  the  dis- 
coveries of  modern  science  have  only  degraded  the  mod- 
erns to  the  level  of  the  ancients,  manifests  the  basest  retro- 
gression instead  of  progress,'  who  can  doubt?  " 

Whatever  laudation  there  is  here  expressed  of  the  igno- 
rance of  the  ages,  it  is  what  was  said  by  Callias,  the  high 
priest  of  Ceres,  to  a  student  in  the  Hbrary  of  Euchd; 
and,  though  a  mythologist  himself,  he  refered  to  the  men- 
tal satisfaction  existing  in  the  ages  of  the  world  before 
the  foolish  lies  of  the  astrologers  and  mythologists  began 
to  confuse  the  minds  of  the  people.  See  p.  45,  ''  Cos- 
mogony." For  a  man  to  attribute  this  passage  to  us  ex- 
hibits either  gross  dishonesty  or  a  want  of  mental  acumen 
to  discern  between  the  original  writing  and  quotation. 
The  inference  he  draws,  that  we  are  a  conspicuous  ad- 
vocate for  ignorance  bears  the  same  stamp — arrogance, 


432      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

if  he  has  not  read  our  book ;  and  ignorance  if  he 
has.  We  venture  the  remark  that  there  never  was  a 
book  pubhshed,  which  discussed  the  subject  at  all,  that 
contends  more  strongly  and  absolutely  for  freedom  of 
thought  and  untrammelled  reason,  denouncing  the  clogs  of 
bigotry  and  superstition,  with  greater  severity  than  "  Cos- 
mogony." Thus  we  leave  Dr.  Woolley  in  his  mythical 
glory. 

Thos.  Mitchell. 
Brooklyn. 

Professor  Mitchell  Replies  to  ' '  Truth  Seeker. ' ' 

Editor  Merchant  and  Manufacturer  : 

We  thank  you  for  a  copy  of  your  issue  of  January  6th, 
containing  ''Truth  Seeker's"  second  rejoinder.  It  is  a 
fortunate  circumstance  that  our  defensive  article  did  not 
so  far  wound  the  refined  sensitiveness  of  our  antagonist  as 
to  prevent  a  reply,  and  that  his  ''heroic  virtue  and  self- 
command  "  were  equal  to  surmounting  the  gravity  of  the 
offence.  We  presume  he  would  not  be  so  out  of  patience 
with  us  were  we  to  adopt  the  silly,  superstitious  notions 
called  astrology,  of  Chaldea,  Persia,  and  Egypt.  "  Truth 
Seeker"  cannot  endure  the  priests  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, but  he  is  in  full  sympathy  with  the  heathen  priests 
of  two  and  a  half  centuries  ago.  That  the  religion  of 
"Truth  Seeker"  is  a  degradation  of  the  ancient  super- 
stition, is  proved  by  the  fact  that  every  one  of  its  priests, 
whose  real  or  mythological  opinions  have  come  down  to 
us,  or  those  of  the  philosophers  who  have  expounded 
them,  held  to  the  personal  existence  of  God  ;  that  there 
was  one  God  supreme  over  all  others ;  that  he  was  alive, 
and  that  the  images  they  made  were  but  symbolic  repre- 
sentations of  the  great,  living  Supreme.  That  these  as- 
trologers might  convey  to  the  common  people  their  con- 
ception of  godhead,  and  that  he  was  alive,  intelligent,  and 
capal)le  of  ])erforming  acts  of  volition,  they  made  them 
images  in  the  shape  of  man,  the  most  intelligent  creature 
on  earth,  and  involved  in  them  machinery,  so  that  their 
eyes  would  open  and  shut,  and  they  would  manifest  other 


COSMOGONY.  433 

phenomena  of  life  and  volition.  They  also  beheved  that 
this  Supreme  Being  created  the  world  and  all  it  contains, 
and  communicated  to  the  solar  system  all  its  motions. 

As  these  ancients  were  not  in  possession  of  the  revela- 
tion of  the  Supreme  Being  and  his  work  the  Scriptures 
contain,  they  learned  these  great  truths  from  the  study  of 
nature,  and  themselves,  the  most  important  part  of  nat- 
ure. They  saw  from  the  natural  interdependence  of 
things  the  necessity  that  the  world  should  have  thus  orig- 
inated, and  in  the  same  degree  were  their  minds  relieved 
of  superstition,  always  the  daughter  of  ignorance,  and  we 
defy  '^  Truth  Seeker,"  or  any  of  his  school,  or  any  other 
school  of  sceptics,  to  produce  any  real  evidence  to  the 
contrary  ;  that  is,  that  the  universe  did  always  exist,  or 
that  it  brought  itself  into  existence  by  an  inherent  prin- 
ciple of  matter.  Notwithstanding  this,  our  antagonist 
says  :  '*  A  God  of  the  Mitchell  type  may  as  well,  and  at 
once,  properly  and  forever  and  ignominiously  be  dis- 
missed from  the  mind  of  man  as  the  veriest  chimera  that 
ever  emanated  from  human  brain.  Of  this  God  we  there- 
fore say  he  has  no  place  in  the  universe. ' ' 

Is  it  not  wonderful  that  "  Truth  Seeker  "  should  stig- 
matize any  man,  angel,  or  devil  with  egotism,  while  he, 
in  his  infinite  pride,  arrogance,  and  conceit,  ignomini- 
ously turns  God  out  of  his  universe  ?  Sin  against  God 
is  not  measured  by  what  a  man  does  or  can  do,  but  by 
what  he  would  do  if  he  had  the  power  ;  and  here  we  have 
an  example  of  its  intense  malignancy  and  measureless 
turpitude.  Give  this  specimen  of  man,  whose  feebleness 
is  only  equalled  by  his  pride  and  presumption,  the  rule 
of  the  universe,  and  behold  the  wreck  and  ruin  that  would 
follow  his  terrible  march  ! 

He  not  only  denies  the  cosmological  views  of  the  an- 
cient astrologers,  but,  by  the  grossest  violation  of  lan- 
guage, attempts  to  drag  the  Bible  into  the  muddy  pool  of 
his  silly  cant  and  preposterous  nonsense,  to  make  it  teach 
that  God  did  not  create  the  world ;  indeed,  that  it 
teaches  God  is  the  dirt  of  the  world  itself,  and  which 
brought  itself  into  existence. 

We  are  gratified  that  '^  Truth  Seeker  "  has  now  been 

M  UNITED  PRESBYTEm^  MISSION  LIBRARY 


434      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

compelled  to  define  his  grade  of  scepticism  to  be  panthe- 
ism— God  is  the  universe  and  the  universe  is  God.  We 
might  fill  a  number  of  columns  in  exposing  the  dishonest 
tricks  of '' Truth  Seeker"  in  making  us  say  things  we 
never  said,  but  we  will  only  give  one  example,  and  that 
in  order  to  expose  his  foohsh  interpretation  of  Scripture. 
We  define  the  worship  of  God  the  Bible  inculcates  to  be 
'*  honor  and  reverence,"  and  because  the  word  worship, 
outside  of  the  Bible,  has  been  made  to  mean  ''slavish- 
ness,"  to  express  the  kind  of  worship  the  superstitious 
bigots  in  their  ignorance  have  paid  to  things  which  are 
no  gods,  such  as  ' '  Truth  Seeker  ' '  pays  to  the  universe, 
he  says  our  ''  definition  carried  out  would  abolish  the 
priesthood  forever."  He  says  :  ''  Religious  superstition 
is  founded  on  the  letter  and  not  on  the  spirit  of  the  sa- 
cred Word"  (that  is,  ''secret"  word).  It  is  fair  to 
suppose  that  this  parenthetical  reading  is  an  example  of 
what  ''Truth  Seeker"  understands  to  be  the  difference 
between  the  letter  and  spirit  of  words,  or  between  the 
literal  and  spiritual  interpretation  of  the  Bible,  and  he  is 
here  discoursing  upon  the  interior  teachings  of  the  Bible 
— known  only  to  Masonry.  By  the  use  he  makes  of  the 
so-called  spirit  teaching  of  its  words,  he  shows  that  he 
means  its  symbolisms. 

If  "  Truth  Seeker  "  is  a  correct  exponent  of  Masonry, 
then  we  are  to  understand  that  within  its  marvellous  in- 
closure  words  do  not  mean,  or  have  the  same  definition, 
as  in  the  outer  world  ;  that  here  "  sacred  "  things  mean 
"secret"  things.  We  understand  "sacred"  to  mean 
holy,  or  that  which  pertains  to  God  or  to  his  worship  ; 
and  "secret,"  concealed  from  the  notice  of  all  persons 
except  those  concerned ;  but,  Masonically  speaking, 
these  words  convey  the  same  idea,  and  may  be  properly 
used  the  one  for  the  other.  Hence,  the  letters  sacred 
may  be  discarded,  and  the  si)iritual,  mysterious  ones 
secret  substituted.  Having  adopted  this  rule  of  inter- 
pretation, it  is  no  wonder  "  Truth  Seeker  "  gives  us  the 
Babel  mixture  of  the  created  with  the  Creator,  the  ani- 
mate with  the  inanimate,  the  organic  with  the  inorganic, 
or  the  living  and  lifeless,  culminating  in  the  monstrosity 


COSMOGONY.  435 

that  God  and  the  whole  matter  of  the  universe  are  one 
and  the  same  thing. 

Cut  loose  from  the  fundamental  principles  of  language, 
that,  conventionally,  certain  letters  compose  certain 
words,  and  that  these  are  signs  of  certain  things  or  ideas, 
and  adopt  the  rule  of  "  Truth  Seeker,"  that  ''sacred" 
means  "secret,"  and  '^secret"  Masonry,  and  the  sym- 
bolic Babel  is  complete,  but  from  that  moment  all  intelli- 
gent commerce  among  men  is  destroyed.  Every  man 
may  then  say  that  black  means  white,  light  darkness, 
Adam  red  earth,  and  Jehovah  the  matter  of  the  universe. 
We  are  not  a  Mason,  but  we  do  not  think  they  are  truly 
represented  by  "  Truth  Seeker."  It  is,  however,  for 
them  to  make  the  defence.     He  says  again  : 

"  That  the  Bible  is  one  of  the  most  symbolical  books  in 
the  world  we  have  the  decided  opinion  of  Sherer,  clearly 
expressed  in  his  '  Masonic  Ladder. '  And  that  we  may 
know  it  to  be  symbolical,  we  have  only  to  peruse  and 
penetrate  the  writings  of  Madame  Blavatzky,  as  embodied 
in  her  '  Isis  Unveiled,'  or  to  examine  and  master  the  sub- 
jects so  learnedly  discussed  by  Rev.  Robert  Taylor,  in 
his  '  Diegesis,'  '  Devil's  Pulpit,'  and  'Astronomical  Lect- 
ures,' or  to  revel  in  the  masterly  production  of  Dr.  Milton 
Woolley,  of  Streator,  111.,  entitled  the  '  Science  of  the 
Bible.'  " 

Suppose  this  to  be  true,  does  it  follow  that  its  words 
are  not  to  be  understood  by  their  letters  ?  or  that  each 
different  word  does  not  convey  its  own  definite  idea,  or 
phase  of  it,  in  a  sentence  ?  or  that  the  symbol  employed 
makes  the  sense  double,  dubious,  or  equivocal?  On  the 
contrary,  symbolic  language  is  representative,  showing 
the  difference  between  things  by  comparison  of  resem- 
blance ;  hence  its  intelligent  use  is  to  illustrate  qualities 
and  ideas,  and  in  the  same  degree  it  destroys  mystery  by 
the  inculcation  of  clear  conceptions.  If  this  is  not  cor- 
rect, then  Masonry,  as  "  Truth  Seeker  "  tells  us,  is  com- 
posed of  almost  an  endless  chain  of  symbols,  but  which 
are  not  understood  by  the  fraternity,  as  the  letters  of  the 
words,  or  the  words  themselves,  are  not  to  be  construed 
according  to  the  same  in  the  description  of  the  symbols, 


43^      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

but  different  words  composed  of  different  letters  may  be 
employed  at  the  option  of  any  member.  There  is  no 
book  more  highly  symbolic  than  "  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's 
Progress,"  and  for  this  very  reason  its  ideas  are  easily 
understood,  and  that,  too,  by  the  composite  lettering  of 
its  words.  The  fact  is,  there  would  be  no  force  or  spirit 
in  words  only  as  they  are  understood  to  convey  certain 
ideas,  and  this  peculiarity  consists  in  the  peculiar  letters 
of  which  they  are  composed.  Why  does  "Truth  Seek- 
er "  give  us  the  opinion  of  the  above-mentioned  authors 
in  proof  that  the  Bible  abounds  in  symbolic  language  ? 
Does  he  not  know  this  fact  by  his  own  reading  of  the 
book  ?  and,  if  he  has  read  it,  did  he  not  discover  that  the 
symbol  and  the  thing  symbolized  were  interpreted  by  the 
words  employed,  composed  of  certain  letters,  and,  there- 
fore, according  to  the  ''letter''  of  the  book? 

For  example,  in  the  highest  symbolic  book  of  the  Bible 
we  read  :  "■  And  to  her  was  granted  that  she  should  be 
arrayed  in  fine  linen,  clean  and  white,  for  the  fine  linen  is 
the  righteousness  of  saints."  (Rev.  19  :  8.)  Let  us  ask, 
are  not  the  fine  linen  and  righteousness  both  literal  things 
composed  of  certain  letters,  and  do  they  not  convey  def- 
inite ideas  of  the  things?  Here  is  another  :  ''And  he 
saith  unto  me,  the  waters  which  thou  sawest  are  peoples, 
and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and  tongues."  (Rev.  17  : 
15.)  Here,  again,  is  not  the  symbol,  ''  water,"  a  literal 
thing,  and  are  not  the  people  symbolized  such  also  ? 
But  what  kind  of  work  would  we  make  of  the  intelligent 
ideas  conveyed  here,  if  we  took  the  liberty  of  saying  that 
the  white  robes,  righteousness,  water,  people,  and  nations 
were  all  the  same  thing,  just  as  sacred  and  secret  mean 
the  same. 

When  this  same  "  Truth  Seeker  "  undertakes  to  show 
that  the  Bible  teaching  confounds  God  and  the  universe, 
he  has  recourse  to  letters  which  form  one  of  the  names  of 
God,  thus : 

'^  God  and  the  universe  are  one,  or  his  ubiquity  is  a  mis- 
nomer. If  God  and  the  universe  are  one,  and  this  is  the 
Bible  doctrine,  then  pantheism  is  unadulterated  science 
and  true  religion.    It  is  the  religion  of  '  Truth  Seeker,'  and 


COSMOGONY.  437 

a  religion  of  which  he  is  very  justly  proud.  It  cannot  be 
overturned,  and  never  has  been  overturned,  though  Mitch- 
ell does  claim  to  have  consummated  the  feat.  Mitchell 
has  said  that  God  is  to  be  known  by  his  names.  One 
of  these  names  '  Je-ho-va-h,'  otherwise  J-H-V-H,  the 
tetragrammation,  or  '  Jod-he-vau-he.'  Now  what  are 
these  four  latter  etymons?  The  names  of  four  Hebrew 
letters  ?  Precisely.  Which  symbolize  what  ?  The  four 
elements.  How  ?  '  Jod  ' — fire  ;  '  he' — air  ;  '  vau' — 
earth  ;  and  '  he  ' — water ;  out  of  which  was  made  all 
things  and  without  which  '  was  not  anything  made  that 
was  made.'  Esoterically,  the  mystic  philosophy  corre- 
lates the  fire  with  the  oxygen,  the  air  with  the  nitrogen, 
the  earth  with  the  carbon,  and  the  water  with  the  hydro- 
gen. (F/V/(?,  Pancoast's  A''(2^^^/c7,  Di a.  Jewish  Sephiroth 
— Adam  Kadmon — opp.  p.  24.)  Can  modern  chemistry 
gainsay  the  elemental  nature  of  oxygen,  nitrogen,  carbon, 
and  hydrogen  ?  If  not,  score  one  for  the  chemical 
knowledge  of  antiquity,  and  score  one,  also,  for  the  unity 
of  God  and  matter.  Even  Mitchell,  despite  his  usually 
unbalanced  ratiocination,  is  constrained  to  dedicate  mate- 
riality to  his  sort  of  God." 

The  first  that  claims  our  attention  here,  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word  ''  ubiquity,"  according  to  which  ''  Truth 
Seeker,"  concludes  God  is  the  universe,  and  therefore  the 
Bible  teaches  unadulterated  pantheism.  In  answer  to 
this,  we  say  that  ^'  ubiquity  "  is  not  a  Bible  term,  nor  is 
*'  omnipresence,"  neither  is  ''  omniscience  ;  "  but  if  they 
were,  they  only  teach  pantheism  when  defined  by  pan- 
theists and  seen  through  the  distorted  and  sordid  vision 
of  a  man  that,  instead  of  beholding  the  handiwork  of 
God  in  his  own  make  and  in  all  the  work  nature  mani- 
fests, sees  nothing  beyond  the  work  itself.  His  mind  is 
too  unphilosophic,  and  in  mechanics  he  is  too  much  of  a 
dunce,  to  comprehend  the  fact  that  a  human  machine 
(say  a  locomotive)  must  have  had  a  maker ;  that  he  must 
have  been  an  intelligent  person,  and,  as  such,  possessing 
volition,  the  power  to  make  or  not  to  make  the  machine 
as  he  pleased ;  and  in  these  qualities  the  mechanic  him- 
self is  in  contrast,  and  superior  to  all  the  lifeless  universe 


43S      CONFLICT   OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

besides,  which,  not  being  an  inteUigent  person,  had  no 
power  to  commence  or  stop  work.  The  phenomena, 
therefore,  the  universe,  or  inorganic  matter,  demanded  a 
superior  being,  who  first  formed  its  whole  machinery  and 
then  compelled  it  to  work  out  the  purposes  of  his  will, 
and  to  arrest  the  work  when  finished. 

In  relation  to  these  quantities  and  mental  dynamics, 
the  language  of  the  Bible  explicitly  declares  that  God, 
having  made  the  world  and  everything  in  nature,  answer- 
ing a  purpose,  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  all,  involving 
in  its  nature  the  limit  of  its  duration,  so  that,  as  a  part  of 
the  whole,  it  might  answer  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
designed  ;  and  from  the  moment  of  the  creation  every- 
thing, whether  organic  or  inorganic,  was  in  the  mental 
presence  of  the  Maker  ;  and  from  thenceforth  the  possi- 
bilities and  susceptibihties  of  everything  in  its  minutest 
detail,  and  during  the  progress  of  its  duration,  was  fully 
known  and  foreknown  because  thus  foreseen.  Here  are 
a  few  examples  of  the  description  of  this  knowledge  and 
presence  :  **  Known  unto  God  are  all  his  works  from  the 
beginningof  the  world."  (Acts  15:18.)  ^' Whither  shall 
I  flee  from  thy  presence  ?  If  I  say,  Surely  darkness  shall 
cover  me ;  yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee,  but 
the  night  shineth  as  the  day  :  the  darkness  and  the  light 
are  both  alike  to  thee."  (Ps.  139.)  The  Scriptures  teach 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  God  incarnate,  God  in  hu- 
man form,  Cxod  with  a  human  body.  *'  In  him  dwelleth 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily."  (Col.  2:9.) 
That  he  was  in  the  world  and  left  it,  "  ascending  up  far 
above  all  heavens."  (Eph.  4  :  10.)  And  that  He  is  to 
come  again  in  like  manner  at  the  end  of  the  world,  or  to 
put  an  end  to  it,  and  re-create  it  into  a  new  world,  com- 
posed of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth.  In  view  of  such 
facts,  what  can  be  more  i)reposterous  than  the  talk  about 
this  God  being  the  world  or  universe  itself,  and  that  the 
foolish  doctrine  is  taught  in  the  Bible? 

The  idea  that  God  must  be  in  immediate  local  contact 
with  everything  He  sees  or  that  is  in  His  i)resence,  is  to 
reduce  Him  below  the  capacity  of  a  man.  The  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  are  in  his  presence,  because  he  sees  them, 


COSMOGONY.  439 

and  yet  some  of  them  are  millions  of  miles  distant  from 
him.  A  man  has  the  mental  conception  of  a  machine  he 
has  made  or  directed  to  be  made,  and  had  before  he 
made  it,  and  after  he  had  concluded  to  make  it  after  a 
certain  model ;  he  knew  its  capacity  and  duration  of  ex- 
istence, and  therefore  the  substantial  facts  in  its  coming 
history,  though  the  machine  and  himself,  at  any  subse- 
quent period,  may  be  in  different  continents.  When  we 
concede  that  God  is  everything,  the  epithets  signify  that 
men  have  applied  to  him,  and  for  which  there  is  no  rea- 
son, he  is  everything  and  nothing  ;  we  are  bound,  there- 
fore, as  a  believer  in  the  Bible,  to  discard  all  the  adjec- 
tives describing  him,  as  well  as  the  names  not  found  in 
the  sacred  Scriptures.  These  cannot  be  held  responsible 
for  anything  but  their  own  teachings,  which  must  be  in- 
terpreted by  the  same  rules  as  any  other  book. 

' '  Truth  Seeker  ' '  somewhat  correctly  quotes  us  as  say- 
ing that  ''  God  is  to  be  known  by  his  names,"  but  he 
should  have  added,  '^  his  names  the  Bible  contains  ;  "  ac- 
cording to  which  (he  says),  "  one  of  these  names  is  Jeho- 
vah, otherwise  J-h-v-h. ' '  But  why  ' '  otherwise  ?  ' '  Surely 
not  because  of  the  letters  composing  the  word,  "  J-h-v-h  " 
(if  it  be  a  word,  having  no  phonetic  but  the  letter  J), 
nor  because  it  any  more  signifies  that  which  Jehovah 
does  than  it  does  "  fool,"  or  any  other  word  of  four  let- 
ters. But  "Truth  Seeker"  says:  "The  tetragramma- 
tion  " — the  name  among  the  mythological  priests  which 
signified  the  mystic  number  /oi/?-,  and  this  is  the  Deity. 
This  was  not  because  of  the  character  of  the  letters  or 
their  combination,  but  simply  because  of  their  number, 
being  four.  His  effort  here  amounts  to  this  :  That  inas- 
much as  the  name  ' '  Jehovah  ' '  is  composed  of  seven  let- 
ters, and  he  wants  a  name  formed  of  four  only,  so  as  to 
have  the  mystic  signification  and  to  be  able  therefore  to 
weave  the  heathen  tetragrammation  into  the  Bible  name 
of  Jehovah,  he  just  leaves  out  three  of  the  letters  !  Be- 
sides, there  is  no  ancient  tetragrammation  composed  of 
"  J-h-v-h  "  and  used  to  symbohze  God,  and  if  there  was 
it  would  only  be  the  first  corruption  of  the  Scriptural 
name  of  God,  Jehovah,  and  now  seconded  by  ' '  Truth 


440      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Seeker."  But  he  says  ''  these  four  letters  symboHze  fire, 
air,  earth,  and  water,  the  elements  of  which  all  things  are 
composed."  This  was  the  knowledge  of  ancient  chem- 
istry, whereas  it  now  teaches  that  there  are  over  sixty 
elements  entering  into  the  composition  of  the  earthly 
bodies.  In  view  of  these  well-known  facts  of  science, 
''Truth  Seeker"  ambiguously  asks:  ''Can  modern 
chemistry  gainsay  the  elemental  nature  of  oxygen,  nitro- 
gen, carbon,  and  hydrogen  ?  ' '  This,  however,  is  not 
the  question,  but  can  modern  chemistry  gainsay  the  an- 
cient ignorance  which  taught  that  all  things  were  com- 
posed of  these  four  elements  ?  But  he  must  take  this 
position,  and  deny  the  true,  natural  science  of  our  day, 
and  adhere  to  that  taught  by  the  ancient  priests,  in 
order  to  make  their  sacred  tetragrammation  "four" 
teach  the  foolish  notion  that  Jehovah  means  "  J-h-v-h," 
and  this  means  fire,  air,  earth,  and  water,  and  also  that 
these  different  natural  elements  teach  the  unity  of  God 
and  matter.  Besides  this,  "Truth  Seeker"  scouts  the 
idea  that  the  Bible  is  to  be  interpreted  according  to  the 
letters  of  its  words,  and  then,  to  obtain  something  of  a 
crutch  upon  which  his  pantheistic  god  can  seem  to  stand, 
he  takes  the  literal  words  of  the  Bible,  even  to  the  letters, 
and  tells  us  J-E-H-0-V-A-H  are  the  same  as  J-H-V-H. 
From  such  disgusting  nonsense  as  this,  behold  the  bom- 
bastic conclusion  :  "  Score  one  for  the  chemical  knowl- 
edge of  antiquity,  and  one  also  for  the  unity  of  God  and 
matter  !  ' ' 

Suppose,  however,  that  this  name  of  God,  by  its  or- 
thography, does  signify  fire,  air,  earth,  and  water,  and  of 
course  because  it  contains  the  letters  J-H-V-H.  But  there 
are  about  a  dozen  other  names  by  which  he  is  designated 
in  the  Bible,  not  one  of  which  contains  these  letters,  and 
is  therefore  not  susceptible  of  such  violent  torture.  If 
one  taught  that  God  and  the  matter  of  the  world  were 
the  same  thing,  then  tlie  other  eleven  names  must  also 
tetragrammatically  symbolize  the  matter  of  the  universe. 
Instead  of  this,  the  author  of  nature  and  the  Bible  em- 
ploys this  great  number  and  variety  of  names  to  reveal 
himself  to  man,  so  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  any 


COSMOGONY.  441 

of  them,  having  common  sense  and  common  honesty,  to 
confound  him  with  any  of  his  works,  much  less  with  the 
common  matter  out  of  which  all  are  formed.  The  names 
of  God,  and  the  connection  in  which  they  stand  in  the 
Bible,  describe  him  as  having  existed  before  the  world  ; 
that  he  took  the  matter  and  "created,"  "made,"  or 
"  formed  "  all  things  it  contains  (these  words  being  used 
interchangeably,  descriptive  of  the  work,  and  therefore 
mean  the  same  thing,  and  this  use  is  the  biblical  rule  of  the 
interpretation  of  its  own  words)  ;  that  he  cursed  the  world 
for  man's  sake — and  if  he  was  the  world  he  cursed  him- 
self; also  that  he  is  a  living  person,  and  as  such  he  is  not 
now  located  in  the  world.  In  view  of  such  facts,  what 
an  advance  in  egotism  and  arrogance  must  a  man  have 
made  to  teach  the  idea  that  the  lifeless,  senseless  matter 
of  the  world  is  the  same  thing  as  the  living  God  himself, 
and  that  this  is  taught  in  the  Bible  ? 

He  again  says  :  "  Pantheism  is  true  religion.  It  is  the 
religion  of  '  Truth  Seeker,'  and  a  religion  of  which  he  is 
very  proud."  He  also  says  :  "  God  and  the  universe  are 
one,"  and,  as  we  have  seen,  defines  the  universe  to  be 
fire,  air,  earth,  and  water ;  hence  the  god  of  the  religion 
(for  every  religion  must  have  its  god)  of  which  he  is 
proud  is  fire,  air,  earth,  and  water.  He  worships  fire  be- 
cause it  warms  him  when  cold  ;  but  how  does  his  patience 
and  reverence  hold  out  with  his  god  when  it  burns  him 
alive,  and  during  the  process  does  he  then  worship  or 
curse  him?  He  worships  air  because  it  cools  him  when 
too  warm  ;  but  how  is  it  when  it  freezes  him  to  death  ?  He 
also  worships  the  air  (wind)  because  by  its  inhalation  it 
supports  his  life  ;  but  how  does  he  feel  toward  this  part  of 
his  god  when  he  gets  into  a  fury  and  blows  down  his 
house,  killing  his  family  ?  Is  he  so  disinterested  and  sto- 
ical that  he  is  still  proud  of  him  ?  He  is  also  proud  of 
paying  devotion  to  earth,  the  third  part  of  his  god,  be- 
cause it  grows  him  bread  ;  but  how  is  it  when  he  gets 
lazy  and  sends  you  famine,  and  while  you  are  starving,  do 
you  still  praise  him  for  his  goodness?  or  how  is  it  when 
he  "sacredly,"  "  secretly  "  mixes  poison  with  the  bread- 
stuff, that  kills  the  eater  ?  or  when  his  good,  merciful  god 


442      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

(earth)  opens  his  horrid  jaws  and  swallows  a  city  with  its 
inhabitants,  men,  women  and  little  innocent  children  in- 
discriminately, how  about  your  god  and  his  good  relig- 
ion now?  Do  you  still  feel  proud  of  him?  You  are 
proud  of  the  fourth  part  of  your  god  (water)  because  you 
can  drink  him  to  quench  your  thirst,  and  thus  save  your 
life ;  he  is  a  good  servant,  and  you  rejoice  in  such  a  salva- 
tion ;  but  how  is  it  Vvhen  you  are  on  shipboard  and  he 
gets  into  one  of  his  pranks  and  dashes  you,  ship  and  life- 
boats against  the  rocks — i^art  of  your  god — all  to  pieces, 
and  then  in  his  wrath  he  drinks  you  in  turn  with  the 
whole  helpless  crew  ? 

Here,  Mr.  ''Truth  Seeker,"  is  the  damnation  part  of 
your  god,  who  never  shows  the  least  mercy  upon  his 
devotees  who  violate  his  commands,  whether  the  sin  is 
committed  knowingly  or  ignorantly.  Behold  the  cruelty 
of  the  quadruple  god  of  your  religion  ! 

We  are  also  given  to  understand  that  the  fire,  air, 
earth,  and  water  god  esoterically  (privately)  and  correla- 
tively  (reciprocally)  metamorphoses  itself  into  the  form 
of  oxygen,  nitrogen,  carbon,  and  hydrogen,  which  words 
are  composed  of  entirely  different  letters  and  number  of 
letters  from  J-H-V-H,  and  yet  these  letters  are  the  sym- 
bols of  those  other  unlike  words.  Here  we  are  taught% 
that  the  name  "  Jehovah  "  is  the  symbol  of  J-h-v-h,  that 
J-h-v-h  is  the  symbol  of  Jod-he-vau-he  ;  these  are  the 
symbols  of  fire,  air,  earth,  and  water  ;  these  are  the  sym- 
bols of  oxygen,  nitrogen,  carbon,  and  hydrogen;  these 
again  are  the  symbols  of  the  matter  composing  the  earth 
and  which  signifies  god.  But  is  this  four-quartered,  gas- 
eous god  any  more  worthy  of  claiming  the  devotion  of 
"Truth  Seeker,"  on  account  of  this  change?  You  love 
oxygen,  his  first  quarter,  because  he  is  a  part  of  the  air, 
another  part  of  your  god,  and  by  inhaling  him  he  sup- 
ports your  life,  by  creating  animal  heat ;  but  he  also  feeds 
the  conflagration  that  consumes  you  and  your  dwelling, 
and  without  him  there  would  be  no  such  catastrophe. 
He  is  the  merciless  god  of  these  feats  ;  do  you  love  him 
still?  His  second  quarter  is  nitrogen,  and  is  the  most 
deadly  antagonist  to  the  first  quarter,  creating  a  terrible 


COSMOGONY.  443 

warfare  in  the  members  of  your  curious  god.  He 
quenches  all  fire,  puts  out  all  light  (another  part  of  your 
god),  and  if  you  inhale  him  prompt  death  is  the  result. 
Now,  how  can  you  obey  these  gods  which  demand  oppo- 
site service  ?  One  because  he  gives  you  warmth  and  life, 
and  the  other  because  he  lays  you  in  the  icy  arms  of 
death  ?  If  for  a  few  moments  you  inhale  carbon,  the 
third  quarter  of  your  god,  he  also  puts  out  your  life. 
Nor  can  he  nourish  a  single  plant  for  your  food,  until  the 
plant  is  first  fully  organized  (and  this  is  its  creation)  ;  the 
plant  can  now  decompose  the  carbonic  god,  and  finding 
him  mixed  with  oxygen,  making  carbonic  acid  gas,  can 
inhale  him,  and  from  that  manufacture  its  own  food,  and 
that  also  upon  which  all  animals  feed,  not  any  of  which 
exists  in  nature  outside  of  the  plant  itself.  This  great 
fact  of  natural  science  should  lead  "Truth  Seeker"  to 
worship  the  living  God,  who  created — organized  the  first 
plants,  in  this  act  endowing  them  with  the  faculty  of 
thus  preparing — manufacturing — all  the  plant  or  vegeta- 
ble food  there  is  in  the  universe.  Do  you  see  ?  The  last 
quarter  of  the  god  of  your  religion  is  hydrogen.  But, 
standing  alone,  he  is  too  ethereal  for  you  to  breathe,  eat, 
or  drink,  or  to  furnish  covering  for  your  nakedness.  What 
part  of  your  religion  do  you  dedicate  to  him  ? 

In  another  point  of  view,  Mr.  ''  Truth  Seeker,"  there 
is  no  reason  or  sense  in  making  the  first  four  quarters  of 
your  god  symbolize  the  second  four  quarters  ;  oxygen  is 
not  fire,  though  its  presence  is  required  to  make  fire  ;  but 
here  even  this  analogy  ends,  for  instead  of  air  answering 
to  nitrogen,  it  is  itself  composed  of  oxygen,  nitrogen, 
carbon,  and  hydrogen.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  make  carbon 
the  symbol  of  the  earth,  as  the  earth  itself  is  composed  of 
these  four  gases.  This  is  also  the  fact  respecting  hydro- 
gen and  water,  as  this  gas  constitutes  but  one-ninth  of 
water,  and  oxygen  eight-ninths  ;  and  though  it  is  so 
called  because  it  is  considered  the  generator  of  water,  yet 
it  can  only  generate  its  own  proportion,  one-ninth,  while 
oxygen  generates  its  eight-ninths.  Besides,  it  is  a  fact 
that  the  decomposition  of  nature  equally  generates  hydro- 
gen.    ThuS;  when  we  come  to  analyze  the  gaseous  god  of 


444      CONFLICT   OF   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

''  Truth  Seeker's"  religion,  he  is  dissipated  into  mythic 
nothingness,  and  the  whole  speculation,  though  it  is  the 
only  foundation  of  pantheistic  religion,  is  one  of  the  most 
silly  jumbles  of  nonsense  ever  invented,  without  science, 
philosophy,  reason,  logic,  or  fact  in  its  defence ;  and  to  be 
its  originator  would  degrade  a  child  of  twelve  years,  ex- 
cept perhaps  for  its  grotesque  imagination. 

It  is  a  most  gross  violation  of  symbolic  language  to  use 
a  symbol  to  symbolize  a  symbol,  or  a  symbol  to  symbolize 
that  which  is  not  known  to  exist — a  real  thing,  an  unreal. 
But  here  we  have  a  half-dozen  symbols  symbolizing  sym- 
bols involved  and  complicated  in  the  most  heterogeneous 
manner  possible,  destitute  of  likeness  or  correspondence, 
which  absolutely  forbids  the  intelligent  employment  of 
the  word.  Behold  the  beauties  of  the  god  of  the  panthe- 
ist and  his  rehgion  !  Had  you  not,  Mr.  "  Truth  Seek- 
er," better  embrace  atheism,  and  with  Ingersoll  come 
out  frankly  against  all  the  gods  at  once  ? 

Again,  ''Truth  Seeker"  animadverts  upon  us  in  the 
following  manner  : 

"  To  call  Truth  Seeker  an  infidel,  however,  is  an 
equivocal  outrage  on  truth,  inasmuch  as  the  charge  im- 
plies an  obligation  or  duty  on  the  })art  of  Truth  Seeker  to 
pander  to  Church  sophistry  and  falsehoods,  without  stint 
or  question  of  propriety,  to  which  condition  he  could 
by  no  manner  of  means  ever  be  brought.  And  neither 
owing  nor  ever  having  owed  obligation  or  faith  to  the 
Church,  he  could  by  no  possible  contingency  be  infidel 
or  false  to  that  which  has  not  now  nor  never  has  had 
right  or  claim  to  faith  or  allegiance  from  him." 

No,  sir  ;  we  did  not  call  you  ''  infidel  "  because  you 
do  not  "  pander  to  Church  sophistry  and  falsehood,"  or 
because  you  have  assumed  no  o])ligation  to  such  organ- 
izations, but  because  you  are  so  unfaithful  to  the  obliga- 
tions imposed  on  you  by  the  God  and  proprietor  of  your 
being,  that  you  even  deny  his  existence  and  pay  all  the 
devotion  of  which  you  are  now  capable,  after  your  long, 
grovelling  hunt  among  lifeless  matter  for  the  i)Ower  that 
brought  you  into  existence,  to  that  sordid  matter  as  your 
god,  thus  committing  the  greatest  possible  insult  to  the 


COSMOGONY.  445 

living  God,  and  degrading  yourself  to  the  lowest  degree 
of  heathen  idolatry,  every  form  of  which,  whether  ancient 
or  modern,  held  or  holds  to  the  personal  existence  of  an 
intelligent  God,  supreme  above  all  other  gods,  to  whose 
direct  hand  they  ascribed  the  creation  of  the  world. 
Whether  they  acknowledge  it  or  not,  there  does  not  ex- 
ist a  being  capable  of  knowing  the  difference  between 
right  and  wrong,  whether  he  be  an  angel,  devil,  or  man, 
who,  from  the  moment  he  became  possessed  of  such 
knowledge  or  faculty,  but  was,  is,  and  must  ever  be,  un- 
der the  most  sacred  obligation  to  honor,  worship,  and 
obey  his  Creator,  and  that,  too,  simply  because  of  this 
relation.  It  might  as  well  and  truly  be  said  a  man  is  not 
infidel  to  his  earthly  parent,  the  mere  instrument  of  his 
being,  to  deny  obligation  to  him  because  he  had  not 
openly  professed  owing  it,  or  were  he  to  deny  his  father 
was  such.  This  duty  is  imposed  by  the  nature  of  things 
as  between  the  Creator  and  the  created  ;  is  sovereign, 
universal,  and  eternal,  as  well  as  by  the  commands  of  the 
"  Scriptures  of  truth,"  thus  :  ''  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  strength,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 
(Deut.  4:5.)  That  the  devil  is  not  exempt  because  he  is 
a  devil,  is  shown  by  the  following:  ''Then  saith  Jesus 
unto  him,  ''  Get  thee  hence,  Satan  ;  for  it  is  written. 
Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only 
shalt  thou  serve. "  (Matt.  4  :  10.)  If  you  will  follow  the 
written  instructions  of  the  hving  God  it  will  elevate  you 
in  the  present  world  mentally,  morally,  and  physically,  to 
the  highest  susceptibility  of  your  nature,  and  in  the  world 
to  come  to  the  grandeur  of  immortal  being  and  close 
association  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  embodied 
Godhead. 

For  the  third  time  we  here  take  leave  of  our  friend 
''Truth  Seeker,"  hoping  that  he  will  become  such  in- 
deed, and  that  the  search  shall  be  the  revealed  will  of 
God  to  man,  the  embodiment  of  Sacred  Truth. 

Thomas  Mitchell. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


BIBLICAL    CHRONOLOGY   OF   THE   WORLD. 

The  Infidel  and  Atheist  go  but  one  step  further  than  the 
Creed-Makers  and  their  adherents  in  crediting  the  teach- 
ing of  Scripture.  The  latter  of  tliese  take  the  liberty  of 
changing  the  meaning  of  its  language  [which  they  cover 
by  calling  it  interpretation]  to  make  it  teach  the  doc- 
trines of  all  creeds  and  all  faiths,  which  they  define  them 
to  be ;  the  others  logically  reject  a  book  as  having  an  all- 
wise  Author  who  gives  authority  for  such  differences  and 
contradictions.  But  in  vindication  of  the  Book  and  equal 
condemnation  of  both  of  these  classes,  two  things  may  be 
said,  that  neither  claim  to  take  the  words  of  the  book  to 
mean  what  they  say,  as  they  do  those  of  every  other  book, 
when  taking  everything  into  the  account  it  contains  upon 
the  subject.  Of  both  classes  the  author  makes  the  com- 
plaint, "They  handle  the  word  of  God  deceitfully." 
"They  put  light  for  darkness,  and  darkness  for  light." 
"They  teach  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men." 
And  scores  of  similar  remonstrances  are  uttered  in  his  book. 
In  regard  to  the  age  of  the  world  from  its  revealed  chro- 
nology, we  have  shown  that  it  is  to  be  six  thousand  years. 
x\t  the  end  of  this  period  it  is  to  be  again  dissolved  into 
its  elements  by  a  universal  conflagration  and  re-created 
into  a  world  of  perfection,  beauty,  and  endless  duration, 
as  the  endless  dwelling-])lace  of  Christ  and  his  immortal- 
resurrected  peo]:)le.  One  line  of  the  revelation  of  this 
design  as  taught,  running  through  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  is,  by  using  the  seven  days  of 


BIBLICAL   CHRONOLOGY   OF  THE   WORLD.      447 

the  first  Creation  as  symbols  of  seven  thousand  years  :  six 
covering  the  work  and  the  seventh  that  of  the  rest  from 
it.  Of  course,  these  are  seven  millenniums,  which  though 
not  a  BIBLE  word,  means  "A  thousand  years — mille,  a 
thousand,  annus,  a  year. 

The  seventh-thousand-year  day,  on  which  the  Creator 
rested  from  the  work  of  making  the  world  and  its  inhabi- 
tants, because  all  were  finished,  is  the  symbol,  or  type,  of 
the  thousand-year-day  on  which  the  Creator  is  again  to 
rest  from  the  destined  work  of  re-creating  the  world  and 
its  inhabitants  into  "  a  New  Heaven  and  a  New  Earth," 
''  The  World  to  come."  "  Wherein  dweUeth  righteous- 
ness," because  none  but  righteous  men  and  angels  are 
citizens  of  that  country.  As  the  rest  of  God  on  the  sev- 
enth day  from  the  work  of  the  first  creation  had  no  end, 
his  work  being  finished,  so  the  seventh  millennium  day  of 
the  rest  of  God  with  his  people  will  have  no  end — the 
work  of  the  New  Creation  being  also  finished.  This  is 
the  only  millennium  taught  in  the  Bible.  It  seems  un- 
questionable, that  if  the  Scriptures  are  revelations  of  God 
and  appoint  the  work  for  the  new  creation  to  take  place 
at  the  expiration  of  six  millenniums,  and  that  at  the  very 
commencement  of  the  sixth  he  began  to  give  by  a  genea- 
logical line  of  the  first-born  of  each  generation  of  men — 
the  years  of  age  between  each,  from  Adam  onward — 
which  line  added  together  makes  the  revealed  chronology 
— then  he  must  have  continued  that  chronology  until  its 
figures,  numbers,  dates,  and  periods  amount  to  six  thou- 
sand years.  Of  course,  all  these  figures,  numbers,  peri- 
ods, and  dates  must  be  found  in  the  Scripture  revelation, 
and  a  single  break  would  destroy  the  whole,  as  in  Bishop 
Usher's  chronology,  which  contains  numerous  figures  and 
dates  taken  from  profane  historians.     The  Biblical  Chro- 


448      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

nology  we  herewith  submit  to  the  pubhc,  everyone  can 
see,  meets  all  these  conditions,  superseding  the  necessity 
for  human  opinion.  It  will  also  be  seen  that  our  attitude 
is  explained  by  the  phrase,  "  What  saith  the  Scripture?  " 
If  IngersoU  can  scoff  away  Bishop  Usher's  chronology, 
not  knowing  enough  about  it  to  offer  a  criticism,  except 
being  printed  in  the  margin  of  Bibles — which  as  he  charges 
people  confound  with  the  text — what  will  he  do  with  this 
BIBLICAL  CHRONOLOGY,  which  makes  the  age  of 
the  world  6,000  years  a.d.  1905?  the  whole  of  which 
we  have  found  taught  in  the  volume  of  the  Book,  by  a 
half  century  of  research  to  know  the  truth ;  which  has 
been  simply  our  duty,  as  it  has  been  that  of  every  other 
man  during  his  Hfe.  Says  the  author  :  ''  Search  the  Script- 
ures :  for  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me."  ''I  re- 
ceive not  testimony  of  men.'* 

.     Biblical  Chronology  of  the  World  from  the  Year  One. 

"  This  is  the  book  of  the  generations  of  Adam. 
In  the  day  that  God  created  man,  in  the  likeness  of 
God  created  he  him."  (Gen.  5  :  i.)  Adam  hved 
an  hundred  and  thirty  years  and  begat  a  son  in 
his  own  likeness,  after  his  own  image,  and  called  his 
name  Seth.     (Gen.  5  :   3.) 130 

Seth  lived  an  hundred  and  five  years,  and  begat 
Enos.     (Gen.  5  :   6.) , 105 

Enos  lived  ninety  years,  and  begat  Cainan.     (Gen. 

5:9)  90 

Cainan  lived  seventy  years  and  begat  Mahalaleel. 
(Gen.  5  :    12.) 70 

Total 395 


BIBLICAL   CHRONOLOGY   OF   THE   WORLD. 

Brought  forward 395 

Mahalaleel  lived  sixty-five  years,  and  begat  Jared. 
(Gen.  5:    15.) 65 

Jared  lived  an  hundred  and  sixty-two  years,  and 
begat  Enoch.     (Gen.  5  :    18.) 162 

Enoch  lived  sixty-five  years,  and  begat  Methuse- 
lah.    (Gen.  5  :   21) 65 

Methuselah  Hved  an  hundred  and  eighty  and 
seven     years,     and     begat     Lamech.       (Gen.     5  : 

25-)  187 

Lamech  lived  an  hundred  and  eighty-two  years, 

and  begat  a  son  ;  and  called  his  name  Noah.     (Gen. 

5:   28.) 182 

Noah  was  five  hundred  years  old,  and  begat  Shem. 
(Gen.  5  :    32.)     [Flood,  1556.] 500 

Shem  was  an  hundred  years  old,  and  begat  Ar- 
phaxad.     (Gen.  1 1  :    10.) 100 

Arphaxad  lived  five  and  thirty  years,  and  begat 
Salah.     (Gen.  11:    12.) 35 

Salah  lived  thirty  years,  and  begat  Eber.     (Gen. 

II  :    I4-) 30 

Eber  lived  four  and  thirty  years,  and  begat  Peleg. 
(Gen.  1 1  :    16.)   34 

Peleg  lived  thirty  years,  and  begat  Reu.  (Gen. 
II  :    18.) 30 

Reu  lived  two  and  thirty  years,  and  begat  Serug. 
(Gen.  11:   20.) 32 

Serug  lived  thirty  years,  and  begat  Nahor.  (Gen. 
11:   22.) 30 

Nahor  lived  nine  and  twenty  years,  and  begat 
Terah.     (Gen.  1 1  :   24.) 29 

Total 1876 

449 


450      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Brought  forward 1876 

Terah  lived  seventy  years,  and  begat  Abram. 
(Gen.  II  :    26.) 70 

Abram  was  an  hundred  years  old,  when  his  son 
Isaac  was  born.     (Gen.  21  :   5.) 100 

Isaac  was  three-score  years  old,  when  Jacob  was 
born.      (Gen.   25  :    26.) 60 

Joseph  brought  in  Jacob  his  father,  and  set  him 
before  Pharaoh  ;  and '  Jacob  blessed  Pharaoh  ;  and 
Pharaoh  said  unto  Jacob  :  How  old  art  thou  ?  And 
Jacob  said  unto  Pharaoh,  The  days  of  the  years  of  my 
pilgrimage  are  an  hundred  and  thirty  years.     (Gen. 

47  :    7-9-) i3o 

Now,  the  sojourning  of  the  children  of  Israel  in 
Egypt  was  four  hundred  and  thirty  years,  even  the 
self-same  day  it  came  to  pass,  that  all  the  hosts  of 
the  Lord  went  out  from  the  land  of  Egypt.     (Exo. 

12  :   40,  41.)     [Exodus,  2666.] 430 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  four  hundred  and 
eightieth  year  after  the  children  of  Israel  came  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  in  the  fourth  year  of  Solomon's 
reign  over  Israel,  in  the  month  Ziff,  which  is  the  sec- 
ond month,  that  he  began  to  build  the  house  of  the 

Lord,      (i  Kings  6  :   i.) 480 

This  period  covers  the  time  of  the  journey  of  the 
wilderness,  the  entire  reign  of  the  judges,  the  forty 
years  of  the  reign  of  Saul,  the  forty  years  of  the 
reign  of  David  and  the  first  four  years  of  the  reign 
of  Solomon,  leaving  thirty-six  years  of  the  reign 
of  Solomon  to  be  added  to  the  chronology,  (i 
Kings  II  :   42.)  36 

Total 3182 


ClBLTCAL   CHRONOLOGY   OF  THE   WORLD. 

Brought  forward 3182 

Rehoboam,  the  son  of  Solomon,  was  forty  and 
one  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign  in  Judah, 
and  he   reigned   seventeen    years   in   Jerusalem    (i 

Kings  14  :    21.) 17 

And  Rehoboam  slept  with  his  fathers,  and  was 
buried  with  his  fathers  in  the  city  of  David,  and 
Abijam  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead.  Three  years 
reigned  he  in  Jerusalem,  (i  Kings  14  :  31,  and  15  : 

2-) 3 

Abijam  slept  with  his  fathers,  and  they  buried 
him  in  the  city  of  David  ;  and  Asa  his  son  reigned 
in  his  stead.  Forty-one  years  reigned  he  in  Jerusa- 
lem,     (i  Kings  15  :  8-10,  41.) 41 

Asa  slept  with  his  fathers,  and  was  buried  with  his 
fathers  in  the  city  of  David,  and  Jehoshaphat  his 
son  reigned  in  his  stead,     (i  Kings  15  :  24.) 

Jehoshaphat  was  thirty  and  five  years  old  when 
he  began  to  reign,  and  he  reigned  twenty-five  years 
in  Jerusalem,      (i  Kings  22  :  42.) 25 

Jehoshaphat  slept  with  his  fathers,  and  was  buried 
with  his  fathers  in  the  city  of  David,  and  Jehoram 
his  son  reigned  in  his  stead,  (i  Kings  22  :  50.)  Je- 
horam was  thirty  and  two  years  old  when  he  began 
to  reign,  and  he  reigned  eight  years  in  Jerusalem. 
(2  Chron.  21:5.) ^ 

And  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  made  Ahaziah 
his  youngest  son  king  in  his  stead.  Forty  and  two 
years  old  was  Ahaziah  when  he  began  to  reign  ; 
and  he  reigned  one  year  in  Jerusalem.  (2  Chron. 
22:    1-2.) I 

Total 3277 

451 


452      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Brought  forward 3277 

And  when  AthaHah,  the  mother  of  Ahaziah,  saw 
that  her  son  was  dead,  she  arose  and  destroyed  all 
the  seed  royal,  and  she  reigned  six  years  in  Jerusalem.       6 

In  the  seventh  year  of  Jehu  [which  was  also  the 
seventh  year  of  Athahah]  Jehoash  began  to  reign ; 
and  he  reigned  forty  years  in  Jerusalem.  (2  Kings 
12  :  I.) 40 

And  the  rest  of  the  acts  of  Jehoash,  are  they  not 
written  in  the  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  kings  of 
Judah  ?  And  his  servants  smote  him,  and  he  died  ; 
and  they  buried  him  in  the  city  of  David,  and  Ama- 
ziah  reigned  in  his  stead.  He  was  twenty  and  five 
years  old  when  he  began  to  reign  ;  and  he  reigned 
twenty  and  nine  years  in  Jerusalem.  (2  Kings  14  : 
I,   2.) 29 

And  all  the  people  of  Judah  took  Azariah  [who  is 
also  called  Uzziah],  and  made  him  king,  instead  of 
his  father  Amaziah.  Azariah  was  sixteen  years  old 
when  he  began  to  reign,  and  he  reigned  two  and 
fifty  years  in  Jerusalem.     (2  Kings  15:1,  2.) 52 

So  Azariah  slept  with  his  fathers  in  the  city  of 
David  ;  and  Jotham  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead. 
Five  and  twenty  years  old  was  Jotham  when  he  be- 
gan to  reign  ;  and  he  reigned  sixteen  years  in  Jeru- 
salem.     (2  Kings  15  :  33.) 16 

And  Jotham  slept  with  his  fathers  in  the  city  of 
David  ;  and  Ahaz  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead.  (2 
Kings  15  :  38.) 

Twenty  years  old  was  Ahaz  when  he  began  to 
reign  ;  and  he  reigned  sixteen  years  in  Jerusalem  . .      16 

Total 3436 


BIBLICAL  CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  WORLD. 

Brought  forward 343^ 

And  Ahaz  slept  with  his  fathers  in  the  city  of 
David ;  and  Hezekiah  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead. 
Hezekiah  was  twenty-five  years  old  when  he  began 
to  reign  ;  and  he  reigned  twenty  and  nine  years  in 
Jerusalem.      (2  Kings   18  :    2.) 29 

And  Hezekiah  slept  with  his  fathers ;  and  Man- 
asseh  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead.  (2  Kings  20  : 
21.)  Manasseh  was  twelve  years  old  when  he  began 
to  reign  ;  and  he  reigned  fifty  and  five  years  in  Jeru- 
salem.      (2  Kings  21:    I.) 55 

And  Manasseh  slept  with  his  fathers,  and  Amon 
his  son  reigned  in  his  stead.  (2  Kings  21  :  18.) 
Amon  was  twenty  and  two  years  old  when  he  began 
to  reign  ;  and  he  reigned  two  years  in  Jerusalem. 
(2  Kings  21  :    19.) 2 

And  the  people  of  the  land  made  Josiah  his  son 
king  in  his  stead.  (2  Kings  21  :  24,)  Josiah  was 
eight  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign ;  and  he 
reigned  thirty  and  one  years  in  Jerusalem.  (2  Kings 
22  :    I.) 31 

And  the  people  of  the  land  took  Jehoahaz,  the 
son  of  Josiah,  and  anointed  him  king  in  his  father's 
stead.  (2  Kings  23:  31.)  Jehoahaz  was  twenty 
and  three  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign ;  and  he 
reigned  three  months  in  Jerusalem.  And  Pharaoh- 
nechoh,  king  of  Egypt,  put  him  in  bands  at  Riblah, 
that  he  might  not  reign  in  Jerusalem.  (2  Kings  23  : 
32,  33.)  And  he  made  Ehakim,  the  son  of  Josiah, 
king  in  the  room  of  his  father,  and  he  turned  his 
name  to  Jehoiakim,  and  took  Jehoahaz  to  Egypt, 


Total 3553 

453 


454      CONFLICT  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Brought  forward 3553 

and  he  died  there.  (2  Kings  23  :  33,  34.)  And 
Jehoiakim  was  twenty  and  five  years  old  when  he 
began  to  reign  ;  and  he  reigned  eleven  years  in  Jeru- 
salem.     (2  Kings  23  :    36.) 11 

And  Jehoiakim  slept  with  his  fathers  ;  and  Jehoia- 
chin  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead.  (2  Kings  24  : 
5,6.)  Jehoiachin  was  eighteen  years  old  when  he 
began  to  reign ;  and  he  reigned  in  Jerusalem  three 
months.  At  that  time  [the  end  of  the  three  months] 
the  servants  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon, 
came  against  Jerusalem  and  the  city  was  besieged, 
and  Jehoiachin,  king  of  Judah,  went  out  to  the  king 
of  Babylon,  he  and  his  mother,  and  his  princes,  and 
his  officers,  and  the  king  of  Babylon  took  him  in  the 
eighth  year  of  his  reign.  And  carried  out  thence 
all  the  treasures  of  the  king's  house,  and  cut  in  pieces 
all  the  vessels  of  gold  which  Solomon,  King  of  Israel, 
had  made  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  as  the  Lord  had 
said.  And  he  carried  all  Jerusalem,  the  princes,  and 
all  the  mighty  men  of  valor,  even  ten  thousand  cap- 
tives, and  all  the  craftsmen  and  smiths  :  None  re- 
mained save  the  poorest  sort  of  the  people  of  the 
land,  and  he  carried  away  Jehoaichin  to  Babylon. 
(2  Kings  24  :  10-16.) 
The  reign  of  the  kings  ends 8 

This  event  was  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  of 
Jeremiah,  one  pa.ssage  of  which  is  as  follows  :  '^  The 
word  of  the  Lord  that  came  to  Jeremiah  concern- 
ing all  the  people  of  Judah,  in  the  fourth  year  of 
Jehoiakim   [the   year   the  prophecy  was  given]  the 


Total 


357' 


BIBLICAL   CHRONOLOGY   OF  THE   WORLD. 

Brought  forward 3572 

son  of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  and  that  was  the  first 
year  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon.  There- 
fore thus,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  :  "  Because  ye  have 
not  heard  the  words.  [And  all  the  calamities  of  the 
world  come  because  men  will  not  hearken  and  obey 
the  words  of  the  Lord.]  Behold  !  I  will  send  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, king  of  Babylon,  my  servant ;  and  will 
bring  him  against  the  land  and  against  the  inhabi- 
tants thereof,  and  will  make  them  an  astonishment, 
and  an  hissing,  and  perpetual  desolation,  and  this 
whole  land  shall  be  a  desolation  and  an  astonish- 
ment ;  and  they  shall  serve  the  king  of  Babylon 
seventy  years."  (Jer.  25th.) 
The  captivity  of  Babylon  was  seventy  years 70 

The  seventy  weeks  of  Daniel,  490  days,  fulfilled 
in  four  hundred  and  ninety  years,  ended  in  the  year 
A.D.  37.  Deduct  37  from  490,  leaves  453.  This 
reaches  from  the  end  of  the  captivity  of  Babylon  to 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  Era 453 

Li  our  work  entitled  "The  Latter  Day  Glory," 
we  have  shown  that  the  prophetic  period  of  the 
seventy  weeks  of  Daniel's  prophecy,  ninth  chapter, 
490  days,  was  fulfilled  in  490  years,  both  by  bibhcal 
and  profane  history,  and  rests  upon  the  same  evi- 
dence as  that  this  is  the  year  a.d.  1893. 

We  have  also  shown  in  another  work,  entitled 
"  Cosmogony,"  that  there  are  no  facts  of  geological 
science  which  prove  the  age  of  the  physical  globe,  or 


Total 4095 

*  Christ  born  4095  of  the  world  ;  not  4004  as  Bishop  Usher  has  it, 
but  91  years  later, 

455 


456      CONFLICT  OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Brought  forward 4095 

of  its  organic  inhabitants,  to  be  equal  to  that  which 
bibhcal  chronology  makes  it,  and  equally,  that  there 
is  no  evidence  furnished  by  philosophical  science  in 
defence  of  the  hypothesis  of  evolution. 

That  the  world  may  be  considerably  older  than 
the  round  numbers  of  the  chronology  make  it,  and 
nearer  its  maturity  of  six  thousand  years,  becomes 
obvious  by  taking  certain  facts  into  the  account. 

First.  There  are  forty-four  factors,  or  numbers, 
which  make  up  this  chronology.  Second.  It  does 
not  reckon  fractions  of  years.  For  example,  it  could 
not  be  said  that  a  certain  king  reigned  fifty  years  if 
it  was  anything  less  than  that  number.  It  is  there- 
fore obvious  that  no  man  can  calculate  the  day, 
month,  or  year  when  the  six  thousand  years  will  be 
complete.  Add  to  these  numbers  the  Christian  Era 
up  to  A.D.  1905  it  makes  the  age  of  the  world  at 
that  date  6,000  years  old 1905 


Grand  Total 6000 

We  present  these  figures,  facts,  and  reasons,  but 
give  no  opinion  as  to  the  age  or  end  of  the  world. 
''Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own 
mind." 


COSMOGONY." 


PERSONAL  TESTIMONIES. 

This  hard  word  is  of  Greek  derivation,  and  means  literally  the 
generation  of  the  world,  or  that  science  which  treats'of  the  origin 
of  the  material  universe.  It  is  the  title  of  a  recently  published  and 
most  remarkable  book  by  Professor  Thomas  Mitchell,  and  issued 
by  the  American  News  Company.  No  person  can  peruse  carefully 
this  volume  of  450  pages — or  fifteen  chapters — without  being  im- 
pressed with  the  intellectual  acumen,  learning,  and  vast  research  of 
its  author.  He  discusses  in  a  masterly  manner,  and  yet  in  a  popu- 
lar style,  the  most  important  subjects,  such  as  creation,  revelation, 
evolution,  atheism,  and  all  those  insinuating  errors  that  tend  to 
undermine  the  very  foundation  of  all  religious  belief. 

His  practical  design  is  to  enthrone  God  as  the  creator  of  all 
worlds — the  infallible  author  of  the  two  books,  Nature  and  Revela- 
tion, and  that  therefore  there  can  be  no  conflict  between  the  two. 
He  shows  that  the  positions  taken  by  modern  scientists  are  both 
presuming  and  premature  ;  that  evolution  is  a  fallacy  ;  and  that  the 
averments  and  denials  of  modern  scepticism  have  no  foundation  in 
science,  philosophy,  or  common  sense.  After  a  careful  perusal  of 
this  "Cosmogony,"  we  must  confess  that  our  faith  in  Moses,  if  it 
were  possible,  has  been  strengthened  ;  that  more  than  ever  we  re- 
gard Christianity  as  a  fixture  which  cannot  be  moved,  and  that  all 
the  cavils  of  infidelity  to  its  verity  are  as  puff-balls  hurled  against 
the  mighty  fortress  of  Gibraltar. 

Professor  Mitchell,  in  our  judgment,  has   done  good   service  to 
truth  and  evangelical    Christianity  in   writing  this   book,  which  is 
destinated  to  live  after  its  author  has  gone  to  his  reward. 
Samuel  D.  Burchard,  D.D., 

New  York,  i88r.  President  of  Rutger's  College. 

Rev.  Thomas  Mitchell. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  have  read  your  "  Christianity  Defended,"  and  con- 
sider it  an  able  and  thorough  overthrow  of  the  vaporings  of  those 
who  deny  reason  and  degrade  themselves  by  making  matter  their 
god.  Yours  very  truly, 

Howard  Crosby. 

My  Dear  Brother  :  I  hope  that  the  republication  of  "  Chris- 
tianity Defended  "  will  have  a  wide  circulation,  for  it  is  well  worthy 
of  the  thoughtful  examination  both  of  sceptics  and  Christians. 

Yours  affectionately, 

Thomas  Armitage,  D.D. 

I  have  carefully  read  "  Christianity  Defended,"  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Mitchell,  and  regard  it  an  unanswerable  argument  against  evolution 

X 


and  atheism,  and  should  it  be  published  with  other  kindred  matter 
[the  kindred  matter  referred  to  is  that  of  this  book]  by  the  same 
author,  in  book  form,  and  widely  circulated,  it  would  in  my  judgment 
be  a  potent  factor  in  counteracting  the  prevailing  scepticism  of  the 
time.  Yours  fraternally, 

Office  of  the  President,  S.  D.  BuRCHARD. 

J  Grand  Central  Depot. 

Rev.  Thomas  Mitchell. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  I  have  read  your  pamphlet  against  the  free- 
thinkers with  much  interest,  and  regard  it  as  a  very  lucid  and  able 
production — indeed,  the  ablest  work  I  know  of  upon  the  subject. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Chauncey  M.  Depew. 

Dr.  p.  Perry,  of  Massachusetts,  says  : 

Rev.  Thomas  Mitchell. 

My  Dear  Brother:  Book,  "Cosmogony,"  and  lecture, 
"Christianity  Defended,"  received,  and  such  a  gift!  Beats  any 
book,  beats  any  lecture  I  have  ever  heard  or  read  about !  While 
reading  the  lecture,  my  head  was  submerged  at  times,  and  then  I 
would  paddle  up  and  go  on,  down  again  into  the  deep  !  This  is  all 
true,  and  my  wonder  is  that  any  man  could  dig  so  deep — go  back  of 
creation,  and  scoop  out  the  planetary  world  with  the  hand.  O  what 
would  I  not  have  given  to  have  been  a  listener,  and  to  have  observed' 
how  crest-fallen  those  dupes  of  unbelief  looked.  No  wonder  Inger- 
soll  dared  not  meet  you  in  public  debate. 

The  "  Cosmogony "  buries  modern  science!  It  is  dead,  and 
you  killed  it  ;  but  you  must  have  had  tlie  help  of  God. 

Your  lecture  should  be  given  in  every  College,  Theological  Sem- 
inary and  High-school  in  the  United  States,  Then  go  over  the  big 
pond  and  lecture  in  Oxford,  getting  two  hundred  dollars  per  lec- 
ture. My  everlasting  love, 

P.  Perry. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

Troy  Daily  Times  says  : 

"  Cosmogony."  The  first  volume  of  a  work,  to  be  complete  in 
two  volumes,  by  Prof.  Thomas  Mitchell,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y..  is  be- 
fore us.  It  bears  the  title  "Cosmogony,  the  Geological  Anti- 
quity of  the  World  ;  Evolution,  Atheism,  Pantheism,  Deism,  and  In- 
fidelity refuted  by  Science,  Philosophy,  and  Scrijnure."  As  may  be 
seen,  the  author  has  laid  out  a  formidable  task.  The  first  volume 
is  in  many  ways  a  remarkable  book,  and  if  the  second  is  like  unto  it 
the  author  must  be  credited  witli  profound  zeal,  wide  and  exhaus- 
tive study,  and  deep-seated  conviction.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  he 
contradicts  most  of  the  materialist  reasoning  of  tlie  day  point  blank 
at  the  outset.  Huml)(»ldt's  "  Cosmos  "  was  defective,  Ijecausc  he  was 
absorbed  in  the  temporal  and  disregarded  the  infinite  and  the  eter- 
nal ;    and  accepted  the  Laplace  theory  of  Nebuke,  for  whicli  there 

2 


was  no  reason  given.  Schelling  defined  nature  as  the  creative  force 
of  the  universe,  but  failed  to  explain  the  origin  of  nature  itself. 
Other  scientific  and  materialist  theories  are  taken  up  one  by  one, 
and  answered  in  like  manner.  By  applying  the  true  standard — the 
necessity  for  explaining  the  cause,  of  which  all  things  in  nature  are 
effects — Darwin  appears  a  sophist,  Huxley's  and  TyndalPs  materi- 
alism is  false  science,  and  Proctor's  nebular  hypothesis  entirely 
inadequate  to  the  requirements  of  the  subject.  In  short,  the  doc- 
trine advanced  is,  that  God,  an  actual  personal  being,  is  the  author 
and  creator  of  all  things  ;  tliat  his  purpose  is  the  grand  and  benefi- 
cent one  to  re-create  the  present  temporal  world  into  one  of  endless 
duration  and  absolute  perfection.  Prof.  Mitchell's  book  is  one  of 
the  strongest  and  most  radical  rejoinders  to  materialist  teachings 
that  could  be  made.  In  these  times  of  loose  theological  reasoning 
it  is  refreshing  to  read  so  scholarly  and  exhaustive  a  treatise  on  the 
most  important  topic  that  men  can  consider.  The  second  vol- 
ume WILL  BE  AWAITED  WITH  DEEP  INTEREST  BY  THE  THINK- 
ING  PART   OF   THE   PUBLIC. 

Toledo  Evening  Bee  says  : 

"Cosmogony."  This  work  is  a  most  valuable  accession  to  the 
literature  of  the  world,  and  peculiarly  applicable  to  these  times, 
when  the  rapid  spread  of  infidelity  is  noted  with  alarm.  In  this 
great  work  the  Rev,  Thomas  Mitchell  attacks  with  skill  and  spirit 
the  positions  and  theories  of  the  evolutionists,  geologists,  astrono- 
mers, chronologists,  and  the  whole  school  of  atheists  who  are  pano- 
plied in  the  garb  of  science.  In  it  he  reaches  conclusions  not  only 
logical,  but  which  are  unanswerable.  It  fully  meets  the  pretended 
scientific  objections  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  Christianity,  as  well 
as  those  of  the  sceptical  and  atheistic  world.  He  marches  boldly 
into  the  enemy's  country,  and  fights  him  on  his  own  ground  and  with 
his  own  weapons,  the  truths  of  science.  In  dealing  with  Robert  G. 
Ingersoll  he  uses  no  velvet  words — no  gloved  hands.  He  directly 
charges  him  with  untruth  and  misrepresentation.  He  also  shows 
Humboldt's  defects  with  irresistible  argument.  It  is  a  work  of 
great  merit  and  displays  wide  research  and  learning,  with  its  facts 
well  arranged,  its  illustrations,  apt  and  striking,  and  its  language 
clear  and  forcible:    It  is  a  work  that  should  be  widely  read. 

Pittsburg  Telegraph  says  : 

"Cosmogony."  Certain  philosophers,  at  different  times  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  have  attempted  to  show  that  there  is  an  unrec- 
oncilable  difference  between  Scripture  and  science,  and  have  la- 
bored to  demonstrate  that  the  world  does  not  owe  its  being  to  an 
intelligent  first  great  cause.  At  the  present  time  certain  scientists 
are  putting  forth  the  most  Herculean  efforts  to  convert  the  world  to 
a  belief  in  their  infidel  tenets,  but  the  champions  of  the  Holy  Script- 
ures and  their  divine  inspiration  are  not  all  asleep.  On  the  con- 
trary, many  able  pens  are  busily  engaged  in  counteracting  the  influ- 
ence of  a  false  philosophy,  and  are  nobly  defending  the  bulwarks  of 
orthodox  faith. 

Judge  Black,  in  his  reply  to  Col.  Robert  Ingersoll,  adopts  the 
3 


mode  of  warfare  formerly  used  by  the  stump  speakers,  and  indulges  in 
personal  abuse  of  his  adversary.  His  reply  is  all  assertion,  and  con- 
tains no  argument.  There  is  nothing  in  it  that  would  convince  and 
convert  any  person  whose  name  is  enrolled  in  the  Ingersoll  school. 
Indeed,  the  denunciation  and  abuse  which  Judge  Black  hurls  at  the 
head  of  his  antagonist  would,  in  the  opinion  of  a  good  many,  go  to 
show  that  he  had  no  faith  in  the  strength  and  impregnability  of  his 
own  cause. 

Prof.  Mitchell  does  not  indulge  in  the  use  of  abusive  language 
acrainst  Darwin,  Lyell,  Huxley,  and  others.  His  work  is  argumenta- 
tive from  the  Alpha  to  the  Omega  of  the  first  volume,  and,  in  our 
opinion,  his  arguments  are  unanswerable.  Besides,  his  work  is 
stripped,  as  far  as  can  be,  of  the  technicalities  of  the  scientists, 
which  so  much  bewilder  the  common  people.  He  presents  an  ab- 
struse subject  in  about  as  popular  a  form  as  it  could  well  be  pre- 
sented, and  we  have  no  doubt  his  work  will  be  duly  appreciated  by 
both  the  learned  and  unlearned. 

Pittsburg  Daily  Post  says  : 

"Cosmogony."  Prof.  Thomas  Mitchell,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in 
this  work,  the  first  volume  of  which  has  been  published,  aims  to 
meet  all  the  objections  to  the  Scriptures  and  Christianity,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  scientific  and  atheistical  world.  A  critic  says  of  the 
work  that  "it  displays  research,  learning,  and  thorough  acquain- 
tance with  the  sacred  volume.  The  facts  are  well  arranged,  the  il- 
lustrations are  apt  and  striking — all  expressed  in  clear  and  forcible 
language."  The  Professor  charges  on  the  whole  battalion  of  materi- 
alists and  infidels  of  the  day,  from  Darwin  to  Ingersoll. 

N'eii)  Yo>-k  Herald  says  ; 

"Cosmogony."  Under  this  title  Professor  Thomas  Mitchell  has 
written  a  very  elaborate  and  learned  work. 

Syracuse  Herald  says  : 

Mitchell's  "  Cosmogony."  As  this  is  not  a  newspaper  devoted  to 
religious  or  scientific  polemics,  the  most  we  can  hope  is  to  give  the 
reader  a  general  idea  of  what  the  work  sets  out  to  do  ;  and  this  we 
may  sum  up  in  the  l)rief  statement  that  it  takes  the  Bible  just  as  we 
find  it  in  the  English  version  of  King  James,  and  argues  for  the  ab- 
solute truth  thereof,  without  reservation.  The  first  step  in  his 
method  is  to  show  by  certain  familiar  illustrations  that  nature  is  not 
self-existent,  and  hence  that  the  universe  must  have  had  a  personal 
creator.  The  second  step,  which  is  an  easy  one  after  the  first  is 
fairly  settled,  is  to  direct  the  inference  that  it  would  have  been 
quite  possible  for  the  Creator  to  bring  the  universe  into  being  in  its 
present  state,  with  its  strata  of  rock  and  its  fossil  formations  placed 
just  as  we  find  them,  for  a  purpose  of  his  own,  and  all  actually 
within  the  six  solar  days  allotted  to  the  work  in  the  book  o^ Genesis. 
We  make  space  for  one  short  extract  from  an  argument  intended  to 
show  the  falsehood  of  the  data  depended  on  as  essential  by  the 
scientists : 

4 


*'Let  it  be  conceded  that  the  world  was  created  with  a  degree  of 
perfection  capable  of  sustaining  life — which  implies  a  condition  as 
high  as  that  which  now  exists,  everything  in  maturity — do  we  not  see 
that  all  bore  the  marks  of  age  ?  For  example,  a  tree  was  made  a 
tree,  with  its  ripe  fruit  ready  to  sustain  the  life  of  man,  and  its  trunk 
would  perhaps  show  thirty  rings  or  grains,  one  of  which  is  formed 
each  year  by  the  law  of  nature,  or  of  natural  growth.  Understand- 
ing this  law,  a  botanist  would  have  pronounced  the  tree  thirty  years 
old  the  day  on  which  it  was  made.  Adam  was  made  a  man, 
and  not  an  infant  to  grow  to  one  ;  the  day  after  this  he  might  have 
been  pronounced  thirty  years  old.  The  two  great  whales  made  on 
the  fifth  day  might  have  been  pronounced  a  hundred  years  old  on 
the  day  of  their  creation.  A  certain  stratum  of  granite  as  the  foun- 
dation of  others  :  God  endowed  the  atoms  with  affinities  and  adhe- 
sive attractions  requisite  to  such  formation,  which  sent  them  in  rapid 
haste  toward  each  other,  and  in  like  manner  each  stratum  was  formed 
in  an  hour." 

Boston  Sunday  Hei'ald  says  : 

"Cosmogony"  is  the  title  of  a  well-printed  volume,  in  which 
Prof.  Thomas  Mitchell,  from  the  standpoint  of  an  orthodox  believer 
in  the  Scriptures,  strikes  all  the  modern  scientists  with  sledge-ham- 
mer blows.  He  argues  with  ability  that  Profs.  Darwin,  Lyell,  Hux- 
ley, Tyndall,  and  Proctor,  and  all  the  other  materialistic  philosophers 
of  our  time  are  teaching  false  doctrines  to  the  people.  It  is  a  very 
interesting  volume,  and  the  old-fashioned  defenders  of  the  divine 
inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  against  the  assaults  of  the  modern  ma- 
terialists are  to  be  congratulated  that  they  have  so  learned,  logical 
and  altogether  able  defender. 

Brooklyn  Union-Argus  says  : 

"Cosmogony."  This  is  the  first  of  two  volumes,  the  second 
being  now  in  press,  by  Prof.  Thomas  Mitchell,  of  this  city.  The 
Professor  has  manifestly  made  the  topics  here  treated  of  the  subject 
of  long  and  earnest  thought,  and  has  been  a  wide  and  careful  reader. 
He  deals  with  a  subject  of  vast  importance,  and  one  that  has 
attracted  the  master  minds  of  all  ages.  He  boldly  confronts  error 
wherever  he  finds  it ;  he  shuns  no  investigation,  and  deals  with  the 
whole  range  of  natural  philosophy  and  science,  from  the  grandest 
complication  to  the  simplest  molecules.  He  regards  the  Bible  state- 
ments of  creation  as  the  most  advanced  science,  and  the  spiritual 
narrative  as  true,  the  deluge  as  universal  ;  and  points  out  how  the 
structural  and  superficial  changes  in  the  earth  may  be  accounted  for, 
and  consistent  with  the  destruction  of  the  Eden  world  by  that  flood. 

He  denies  the  existence  of  a  glacial  period  or  a  carboniferous 
epoch,  and  broadly  meets  the  speculations  of  Lyell,  Darwin,  Agassiz, 
Tyndall  and  Huxley,  and  the  nebular  hypothesis  of  Laplace,  and  ad- 
vises "the  star-gazers,"  whose  telescopes  pierce  ttie  interstellar  spaces, 
to  betake  themselves  to  substantial  investigation,  and  give  us  either 
matter  of  fact  or  logical  argument.  Mr.  Mitchell  attacks  the  assumed 
science  of  these  men  with  science — its  own  weapons,  which  it  has 

5 


self  revealed.  The  closing  section  is  a  picture  of  the  world  with 
man  extinct,  and  is  a  striking  statement  of  a  demonstration  of  the 
belief  that  all  organic  beings  and  things,  plants  and  animals,  with 
man  at  their  head,  came  into  existence  simultaneously. 

Sutiday  Baltimore  News  says  : 

"Cosmogony."  By  Prof.  Thomas  Mitchell.  This  is  a  very 
comprehensive  and  able  work  upon  the  creation  of  the  world  and  all 
incidental  themes  and  subjects  growing  therefrom.  It  has  the  com- 
mendation of  several  of  the  leadmg  men  of  the  country — those  of 
most  profound  thought — and  will  do  much  good  service  in  brushing 
away  the  cobwebs  of  sophistry  woven  about  matters  which,  for  good 
and  wise  purposes,  have  always  been  wrapped  in  mystery. 

Baltimore  Sunday  Press  says : 

"Cosmogony."  By  Prof.  Thomas  Mitchell.  This  work  is  de- 
voted to  a  refutation  of  the  theories  of  the  geological  antiquity  of 
the  world,  evolution,  pantheism,  deism,  and  infidelity  by  science, 
philosophy,  and  Scripture.  The  style  of  the  author  is  clear  and 
attractive,  and  his  arguments  have  remarkable  force  and  originality. 
The  book  is  by  no  means  as  tedious  as  metaphysical  works  generally, 
but  has  decided  points  of  interest  for  even  the  casual  reader. 

6 


BOOK    READY    APRIL    15TH. 


